Faith
by Zany the Nerd
Summary: Luke Skywalker, still trapped in his eight year old body, escapes his father and returns to the rebels to save Han. Meanwhile Darth Vader plans on recapturing his son all while secretly plotting a mutiny against the Emperor. And what is this about the Empire constructing a new weapon? (Sequel to Reliance)
1. Escape the Executor

A few days ago, being alone with his father had not felt so uncomfortable, but then again, a few days ago Luke Skywalker had been unaware that Darth Vader had no intentions of helping him return to his older body.

"You are to remain in here and rest." It was the first thing his father had said to him since they arrived back on the Executor. The trip there had been one in silence. The Exectuor's location had not taken long to reach and Luke had spent the time sleeping, planning, and avoiding his father. The moment their ship had docked Vader had ushered Luke back to his private quarters where they currently stood. "Are you still experiencing any dizziness from your concussion?"

"Like you care." He said crossly, knowing how much of a brat he sounded like, but not caring.

"I do not have time for your childishness."

"Really, but I thought you'd like my immaturity considering you want to keep me in a child's body?"

That had been the wrong thing to say. Vader's face went dark as he took a step forward and Luke had to slightly arch his back to look all the way up at the towering man's face. It was strange, even without the monster-like helmet, his father still managed to appear frightening.

Artoo rolled close to his side, almost protectively so. Luke glanced sideways at the droid. Seeing his friend grounded him and helped remind him that he needed to keep a little of his cool if he wanted to be able to escape.

"Do not push me, young one. If you do not feel inclined to tell me I have other methods of finding out."

The Jedi glared down and his feet. He wasn't sure what 'methods' Vader was referring too and he would rather not learn any time soon, "The disorientation is gone, but I still feel a slight ache in the back of my head. Happy?" he grumbled.

His father kept a questioning eye on him and Luke felt as if the older man knew he were up to something.

Finally he lifted his scrutinizing gaze and said, "I must leave now, but I will be back very shortly. We are not done talking."

Oh yes they were. By the time his father came back he would hopefully be long gone. Obviously he did not voice that; instead he sarcastically replied, "I can't wait."

Vader stared at him for a few more seconds before exiting, the door closing behind him. Luke let out a sigh of relief. He feared his father would separate Artoo and him. That would have thrown a huge wrench into his plans.

Said astromech beeped at him and Luke gave an encouraging smile, "Don't worry buddy, we just have to wait a bit longer so my father can get settled in the meeting with that Prince Xizor. We don't want him sensing us moving too soon. He has to be preoccupied if this is going to work."

His plan was one that Leia would call reckless, but it was all he had. He knew this was his one shot at escaping. If they failed, then his father would double his security and tighten his leash.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Darth Vader fastened on his thick cape. The armor he just put on looked exactly like his old suit, copied perfectly down to the buttons on his chest plate. Only this one was merely a shell, lacking all the needles and various wiring of the life support system. It was much lighter, but to any onlooker, they would never suspect it was not the same.

Picking up the helmet he stared at his distorted reflection. He once considered his suit akin to a mobile cage, now he used it as a disguise to hide his younger and healed body beneath. He would reveal his functioning body to the galaxy when he felt the time had come. But for now no one other than his son and Piett were privy to that information.

At the thought of his son, his mind drifted. The child was going to be a problem. He still had not quite planned on what to do with him. He felt the boy's anger more consistently present since there escape from Kamino. Perhaps it was time he began his training. As soon as he was finished with this pointless meeting he would help the boy construct a new lightsaber to practice with.

Placing the helmet on his head, the room filled with the sound of the false life support system. Walking out of his meditation chamber he made his way through the corridors until one of his men approached him.

Giving a low bow he wasted no time in getting to the point, "My Lord, Prince Xizor has arrived and is awaiting you in the conference room."

"Be sure the room is monitored at all times and that we are not interrupted unless there is situation of great importance."

"Yes, of course, my Lord."

Vader continued through the halls desiring more than anything at the moment to get the conversation over with. He had no time for the man's games. Xizor was in charge of the largest and most powerful criminal organization that had a hand in almost every type of business. This made him useful to the Emperor.

He passed two of Xizor's personal guards as he entered the large room. Inside, sitting at the long, black polished table, was the Falleen himself. Xizor was a tall alien of reptilian decent. His skin was a rough, pale green and his hair was a dark black that sat in a topknot on his head. The man stood up as Vader entered, his purple robes billowing gracefully as he moved.

"Lord Vader," the prince bowed, "Thank you for finding time to meet with me. You are a hard man to track down."

"Indeed, I am busy."

Vader did not sit down, therefore Xizor did not either. He did not want this man under the impression that he had his undivided attention nor that he was just willing to sit and talk for a long span of time.

"Yes, I know you are." The crime lord said straightening his clothes and added passingly, "There have been some very interesting rumors floating about. Black Sun has people in all corners of the galaxy and some have heard whispers of you traveling in the Deep Core with a little boy. Most peculiar wouldn't you say?"

Vader showed no outward sign of the words disturbing him, but on the inside his mind was reeling in thought. He had not missed the gleam in Xizor's eyes as he passed that comment. Did he know? He had traveled with Luke for such a short period of time in his armored suit before he changed to the tunic that the chances of word spreading from Adana to the rest of the galaxy was sure to be slim.

But even with these thoughts in his head Vader managed to keep his cool persona and simply folded his arms across his chest, "Thank you for the enlightening gossip, but I hope it is more than silly rumors you wish to discuss."

The Fallen's lips curled up into a smile, "Of course, my Lord. It is about funding our Emperor's new project. The Emperor and you have Black Sun's full support and resources at your disposal."

"How generous of you." Vader said with not a smidge of gratefulness.

"I do what I can to serve the Empire." Vader knew there was more to this man than meets the eye, but even with all his best spies watching Xizor's every move, he could never figure out what it was, "I am sure this new weapon will work out better than the Death Star II would have."

This halted his thoughts in their tracks.

"What?"

"Oh, I thought you knew. I suppose with your recent absence the word has not reached you yet." Xizor said, acting like the situation was awkward, "Then please, allow me to fill you in, my Lord. The Emperor and I were discussing-"

Vader straightened as the ship's alarm started blaring overhead.

"An alarm? Has someone breeched your ship?" Xizor shouted over the sound.

The Dark Lord snarled under the mask knowing the Falleen was probably pleased by the distress. Xizor's personal body guards were in the room an instant later followed by one of Vader's officers.

"Prince Xizor, are you harmed?" one of the guards asked.

"No need to worry men, I am sure Lord Vader will have everything under control momentarily."

Ignoring the comment, Vader turned to his officer, "You best have a report as to what is happening."

"Y-yes, my Lord, we are still researching what triggered the alarm. All we know is it is coming from sector 2187."

"Then I suggest you quit standing here and get to finding out."

"Yes, Lord Vader." The man bowed and briskly exited, relieved that he survived the encounter.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Luke rocked back and forth on the bed in nervous anticipation. They had waited long enough and now the time for escape was at hand!

"You ready to go home, Artoo?" The droid chirped out in what the young Jedi was sure to be agreement. He slid off of Vader's mattress and approached the door. The blond pressed the button to open it and was me with the expected beep proving it was locked. Now it was time for step one. He had never tried something like this before and could only hope he could pull it off, "Here goes nothing."

Taking a deep breath Luke closed his eyes and gathered the force around him. In his mind he imagined the mechanisms inside the door that worked together to slid it open and closed. With a gentle wave of his hand he opened his eyes. Biting his lip, he reached out and pressed the button.

Another beep of denied access echoed through the room. Luke's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Artoo lightly bumped into him as if to encourage him to try again. Luke nodded to his friend and cleared his mind to try again. He blocked out all other thoughts and only focused on the inner workings of the door. Reopening his eyes a pressed the button once more and immediately was satisfied as the door swooshed open!

From this moment the clock would start ticking.

He motioned for Artoo to follow him. The two slowly crept through the rest of Vader's private wing, on the hunt for a place to plug into the wall. Then Luke spotted it. Artoo rolled up to the outlet and plugged his extension in. The young Jedi remained vigilant as the astromech secretly searched the Executor's databanks for a map of the large ship. At last Artoo beeped out in success.

"Great job, let's see what you got."

Artoo projected the obtained schematics of the Executor, which Luke examined closely. He found where he currently was then searched for the way to reach the hangar. After memorizing the route, the Jedi nodded and the projection disappeared.

The next part would be tricky.

"Alright Artoo, you know what to do."

The droid beeped and went to work. In the matter of a minute the Executor's alarm was blaring. The droid detached himself from the wall and the two sped off out of the chamber. Luke peered around a corner as stormtroopers came rushing by in the opposite direction of where they needed to go. Artoo had alerted the entire ship to a breech in one of the lower rooms farthest from the hangar. That would leave the place severely under guarded allowing them to make their getaway. At least, that was what Luke hoped.

Once the stormtroopers had passed, Luke and Artoo ran down the hall. The Jedi could sense another group of people coming down the corridor and quickly jumped into a room. The duo continued this process until they had almost reached the hangar when their luck ran out. Artoo had managed to roll behind cover, but a man had spotted Luke before the boy could join him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm-uh-I'm-" his heart was racing. He had come too far to be caught now! He had to talk his way out of it, like Han would, "I'm looking for my dad. The alarms really loud." He said covering his ears as he played the part of an eight year old.

"There should be no children onboard. Who is your father?"

Luke said the first name that came to mind, "Mr. Piett."

"I was unaware Admiral Piett had a son." The man looked disgusted, "You are going to need to come with me, this vessel is under a state of distress and if Admiral Piett is indeed your father we need to have a talk with him."

Oh no. Time to think of something fast! Old Ben flashed through his mind and an idea quickly followed.

Reaching out through the force Luke said, "You want to leave me here and forget you saw me."

"I most certainly do not! You are already in enough trouble, boy, now come this way."

That was when a coldness came over Luke. A very familiar coldness that belonged to his father. He knew.

 _"What are you doing, son."_ His father's voice echoed angrily in his mind.

Luke ignored it and tried again in a panic, "You will forget you saw me and move along!"

"That's enough out of you!" reaching down he grabbed Luke's arm and began dragging him down the hall. Artoo poked out of hiding, but the Jedi quickly shook his head in disapproval. Looking back up at the officer, Luke calmed himself and tried a third time, "You will forget you saw me and move along."

The man came to a complete stop and straightened, his hold on the boy's arm relaxing, "I will forget I saw you and move along." He repeated.

Luke yanked back his arm and the man started walking down the hall, now blinded to his presence. The boy didn't celebrate as he immediately darted back to his droid, "Come on!"

The two hustled inside the hangar and Luke searched for the ship he and his father had traveled in.

 _"Luke!"_ his father's voice rang out again.

Shaking his head as if that would break the connection with his father, Luke continued to sprint towards the vessel.

A mental warning sounded through Luke's body and he veered left, barely dodging a stun blast.

"Someone stop that child!" he heard a stormtrooper yell, but it was too late he was already up the ramp with Artoo. Luke quickly closed the hatch and ran towards the cockpit. Clambering onto the chair he sat on his knees and bent forward to reach all the controls to power up the ship.

"Artoo I'm going to need some help!"

The ship's systems came online and Luke wasted no time in pushing the control stick forward. The ship rocketed off the ground, out of the hangar, and into space.

"Quickly plug in the coordinates to the system near Home One; we've got to get out of here before they start firing at us!"

 _"Luke-"_

But his father's voice was cut off as there ship entered light speed, severing their force connection with the great distance.

Luke flopped back against the pilot's seats. They had done it. Soon they would be back with the rebels and there he would be presented with a new problem: explaining what happened to him.

"Artoo, make sure to scramble our ship's signal. We don't want the Imperials to track us back to our base."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Out of all the times for something like this to happen it had to be now when he was trying to learn what Xizor knew. Could the alarm be a malfunction? No. The rebels? Unlikely.

Then the answer came to Vader in one, short word. Luke.

He clenched his fist and reached out through the force until he felt his son's force presence.

 _"What are you doing, son?"_

He could feel the boy's shock at the words, but he received no answer. Luke was ignoring him.

"Is there anything I or my men can do to assist you?" Xizor asked with clasped hands.

"Remain in here until I return." He did not look at the man's face as he exited the room. Somehow his son had escaped his quarters and now was somewhere on the ship.

 _"Luke!"_ he tried again, anger evident in his voice.

He needed to find him before he escaped and he had a pretty good idea of where the boy would be heading.

"You there." He called out to one of his subordinates who had been heading in the opposite direction. The man froze, terrified, but spun around and bowed without trembling.

"Lord Vader?"

"Alert any men remaining at the hangar. I believe a stowaway is attempting to escape."

"I will do so immediately!" the man ran off.

Vader hurried down the hall towards the hangar though deep down he knew he would never reach the area in time.

 _"Luke-"_ but he stopped as he felt their force connection abruptly snap. The boy was too far away, he must have gotten in a ship.

"Sir there was an unauthorized ship departure! A young blond child stole-eugh!" the man began gripping futilely at his throat and wheezing as he struggled for air.

"Thank you for the information." Vader dropped his hand, in turn releasing his force hold on the man sending the lifeless body toppling to the floor.

Darkness swirled inside him as what happened, what he had just lost, sunk in. His son was gone.

 **AN: So ends chapter one of our sequel. I've got quite a ride planned for this father and son duo.**

 **For those who do not know, Prince Xizor is from the novel Shadows of the Empire (great book by the way). What did you guys think of the opening? Loved it? Have no interest in reading anymore? Let me know!**


	2. Home One

Artoo beeped out to let Luke know they had almost reached their destination.

The Jedi's stomach tightened in nervousness. He had gone over a million different ways to try to explain everything that had happened to him, but none of them satisfied him. No matter what he would say, nothing would be able to take away the awkwardness that was soon to happen.

"Alright Artoo, patch me into Home One's signal. Looks like I can't postpone this conversation any longer."

The young Jedi took a deep breath as the astromech created the connection. Everything would be fine. He just had to explain that he got zapped by a weird ray that some loony scientist made turning him eight and he could not contact them because he was trapped with Darth Vader…..yeah that did not sound crazy at all.

"Your ships number is not recognized in our files, state your name and business for contacting this signal." The voice belonged to Alliance High Command member Mon Mothma.

"Here goes nothing." Luke whispered before continuing much louder, "This is Commander Skywalker reporting in to Home One." His current voice saying those words made him sound like a child playing pilot.

Silence answered him. He was sure Mothma was trying to wrap her head around why a boy had the Rebel's signal and was impersonating Luke Skywalker. This was going to be interesting.

He decided to try again, "Er Home One do you copy?"

This time he did receive an answer, "Who is this?"

The Jedi placed a hand on his forehead in frustration and repeated himself, "This is Commander Skywalker, listen I know this sounds nuts, but I have been missing in action for a while and I need-"

"Listen, young man, I don't know how you came to acquire this private channel, but-"

Luke was not going to be patronized like a naughty child, so he quickly cut Mothma off, "I really am Luke Skywalker! Let me speak to Le- I mean Princess Leia, I can explain everything." There was another moment of silence, "Please."

It wasn't long before Leia's confused voice came out of the speakers, "This is Leia Organa."

Luke smiled to himself, "Leia, boy have I missed you."

"I am told you claim to be Commander Skywalker." There was a hint of amusement mixed with puzzlement and the slightest bit of hope.

"Yeah I know, hard one to believe, but I can prove it. I was supposed to rendezvous with Lando and Chewie as we scouted out the system Slave I was rumored to have been spotted in, but due to…a situation I was unable to get to the meeting spot." he explained, "And not only that, but Artoo is with me. Say hi, Artoo."

The droid whistled and beeped.

"It's him." He could practically hear her smile before she added more sober, "Sort of. Luke what happened to you? Why do you sound…different."

"It's a long story, one I'd prefer to tell you in person and with as few people as possible around."

The thought of being surrounded by Rogue Squadron and the rest of the Rebellion looking like this- ugh- it was a mortifying thought.

"Give him clearance to land."

"Are you quite sure, Princess?" he heard Mothma ask in the background, her voice dripping with suspicion.

"Yes it's him, I can feel it."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

When Luke's stolen ship touched the ground of Home One's hangar he could feel his nerves jittering. He waited anxiously in front of the exit with Artoo loyally at his side. Taking a deep breath, he stood on his tip toes and pressed the button to open the door. He took a step back as the ramp slowly lowered.

Luke found himself unsure what to do with his hands. Did he fold them? Leave them dangling at his sides? No pose took away the uncomfortable feeling that was flooding him at having to reveal the way he looked to his friends.

Then he heard footsteps. The first to enter was Leia and no more than two steps behind her Chewbacca with his bowcaster drawn. Both came to a halt a few feet away from him. Leia's eyes were wide as she scanned his body up and down, clearly trying to make sense of what she was seeing. It was strange; he was used to looking down at Leia, not it being the other way around. She had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep and her hair was just a tad messier than normal. And Chewie, oh man, Chewie was monstrously tall now it seemed! One wrong step and he would be crushed by the Wookie!

"Luke?" Leia asked slowly.

"Yeah, well, half of me anyway." He said, meekly giving her a half smile. It was something he had picked up from Han.

"Why do you look-," she struggled to find the words, "-like a six year old."

Luke felt his cheeks burn, "I don't look that young, but-I was blasted with some machine that this scientist named Dr. Nuvo Vindi created and it made me look like this."

"What?"

"I know. I'm still as weirded out by the situation as you are." Luke said, "And I wanted to contact you right after it happened, but I was trapped with Vader-"

"You were with Vader!" Leia looked like her mind was spinning, and she quickly held up a hand "Hold on a minute, Luke. You are going to have to explain this from the beginning, because this is just too much to follow."

Chewie took that moment to walk around the princess and stand in front of him. Luke felt like his neck would break the way he had to look all the way up at him, "Hey Chewie."

The large Wookie bent down and rubbed his hair as he let out an affectionate growl.

"Hey, hey!" Luke playfully swatted the large hand away, leaving his hair askew and pointing in various directions causing the furry being to laugh.

Leia chuckled and came to kneel in front of the little Jedi, "I think Chewie missed you. I know I did." She then unexpectedly pulled him into a hug, "We had people out looking for you, but it was like you had just vanished. Then the High Command came to the decision that we didn't have the man power to keep up the search." She pulled back and they were face to face, her brown eyes revealing all the pain, worry and stress she had been feeling over the past several weeks. Luke felt guilt flood through him; she had been worried about losing Han and then he goes and disappears only adding more to her grief, "I knew you had to be alive, I just wasn't sure where."

Chewie growled out something which Leia must have partially understood because she nodded.

"Right, we need to move to another location. We cleared as much of the hangar as we could without things looking suspicious. Right now we want to keep what happened to you under wraps until we get everything sorted out."

"That is fine by me, the less people who know the better." Luke said relieved.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader stalked back into the meeting room where Xizor had been left waiting, his head buzzing with thoughts of his son. As he entered, the Falleen motioned to his guards who quickly and quietly departed.

"Ah Lord Vader, you have returned. What caused the alarm?"

"The situation has been handled." He replied, signaling he would speak no further on the topic, "Now, as you were saying."

If the lack of an answer bothered the Prince he did not show it and simply continued, "Oh yes, I was telling you of the Emperor and I's conversation." He said with great pride, as if Vader would be jealous of such a thing. Not that long ago he probably would have been, but a lot had changed after traveling with his son. He had rekindled hope of overthrowing the Emperor with his rejuvenated body, so let Xizor attempt to work his way up in Palpatine's favor. In the end it would do him no good.

"I was informing him of an invention I have a team of scientists working on. If all goes according to plan, the device will allow a person to regress the age of organic matter." Xizor did not have to say any more, Vader knew exactly the machine he was referring too. He clenched his fist; Xizor was the one who had employed Vindi to create the weapon that had changed him and Luke. The Black Sun leader prattled on, "Think of it as a more ecofriendly Death Star. It still has the power to wipe out a planet's worth of people by de-aging them out of existence, without destroying the planet itself. This will allow for the Empire to reap natural resources. Brilliant, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, ingenious." Vader ground out. He silently wondered how much Vindi had told Xizor before his death. Did he mention that it was Luke Skywalker that had been used as a test subject? Or that Vader himself had been regressed too?

"The Emperor thought so too. He then asked me if it was capable of something more…precise, like reducing one to their prime age." The Dark Lord did not like where this was going, "My lead scientist said with proper modifications he could do such a thing. Think about it, a man could live forever in a fit body. The Emperor is quite brilliant, this would allow his reign to last as until the end of time itself."

The Sith snarled under the mask. He could not let that kind of power fall into Palpatine's hands.

"I would be interested in meeting this lead scientist." He baited, curious to how the Falleen would reply.

"I regret to say we have lost communications with him recently, but I have my men tracing him to his last location. We will have an update soon enough."

So he was unaware of Vindi's death. That was good. He would have to quickly assemble a team to salvage the machine from the rubble before Xizor's men reached it. This day was getting worse and worse by the minute.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Chewie closed the door when they reached the secluded area that was Leia's quarters. Luke had kept his face down and practically jogged to keep up with the princess as they walked through the base. Artoo had gone a separate way, no doubt looking for Threepio. The trio had walked past a few people, but lucky for Luke Chewie would use his large mass to block him from view. Only one person so far had caught sight of him to who Leia quickly muttered an explanation to that he was an orphan of the war.

The young Jedi stood in the middle of the room taking in his surroundings. He had only been in Leia's room here on Home One a handful of times, but had never really looked around it before. It was a modest sized room that had very few personal touches. There was a small, neatly made bed against the back corner and across from it a desk with a hair brush, holopad, and a few flimsiplasts scattered across the top. There was also a narrow door which Luke surmised led to the refresher.

"Alright, Luke, I think it's time you fully explain what happened to you."

The blond turned to Leia who sat down on the edge of her bed. Chewie remained in front of the door appearing to be guarding it.

He scratched the back of his head, "Stars, I don't know where to start."

"The beginning might not be a bad place." She suggested, offering a small smile and patting the spot next to her. He made his way over to her and hopped up onto the spot she had gestured to, ignoring her amused face at him having to jump to get onto the bed.

"Well….while out looking for Boba Fett I picked up a distress signal on my scanners."

"Oh Luke, you didn't."

"I didn't even say what I did!"

"You don't have too, I know you! With your hero complex you went to see if you could help."

"I-well-I did, but-I don't have a hero complex!" Luke huffed to which Leia responded by shaking her head good naturedly, "Anyway, I did go check into the distress signal and found it was coming from some strange looking ship. It wasn't all I found though; I ended up running into the Executor."

All traces of humor drained from her face at the mention of the Sith's ship.

"Vader chased me down in his Advanced TIE until the mysterious ship shot some energy blast at us. It hit my X-Wing first then Vader's TIE causing us to crash land on Adana. I must have blacked out because when I woke up I looked like this." He conveniently left out the part that he was also being held by his father.

"So what you are telling me is the ship…made you younger?" Leia said trying to process it all.

"Yes."

"And what happened to Vader?" he could hear the hope in her voice that he had not survived the landing.

Luke swallowed, there was no hiding this part from her, "He found me first and was also affected by the energy wave."

"Vader's a child now!" she said horrified.

"What? No, he's just younger- like in his thirties or something." Luke said, disturbed by the thought of his father as a child, "He didn't have to wear the suit so it made the experience all the more bizarre. I think I was hit harder by the wave than he was causing me to regress more…" he trailed off.

"Did you escape from him?"

"No, not at first anyway. We worked together to get to the nearby city."

Luke continued explaining the rest his adventure with his father as Leia quietly listened. He talked about the Advanced Hyperdrive, Vindi, Ladon, everything up to his escape. Of course he left out a few details like his father carrying him multiple times, his getting sick, the ice skating lesson, and the moment his trust in the man was shattered.

Leia remained quiet once he finished, looking to be deep in thought. Finally she spoke up, "Are you hiding something, Luke?"

This took him by surprise, "What do you mean?"

"The whole situation, it's too weird. Vader goes from cutting off your hand on Bespin, to traveling around trying to…help you? Something's not adding up."

He looked down at the floor. He didn't want to hide who his father was, especially from Leia, but…what if she looked at him differently? What if she was disgusted by his parentage? Would they kick him out of the Rebellion?

She reached out and grabbed his hand, "Please, tell me."

Luke took a deep breath. Maybe it was time he tell Leia. She was his friend, she would certainly understand.

Then why was he so afraid she wouldn't?

Looking up at her he slowly answered her, "Back in Cloud City, Vader told me something about my father." He had to stop himself from nervously fiddling with the sheets, "He told me that he didn't kill him."

Leia's eyebrows were scrunched in concentration as she absorbed every word, "Well if he didn't kill him, than who did?"

"No one." He had come this far, there was no turning back now, "Leia, Darth Vader is my father."

 **AN: First off, I am really sorry for the wait. It's that crunch time at the end of the semester where everything is due and finals are literally the week after next for me. Thank you all for all the wonderful reviews, favorites, and follows! You guys keep me writing! I am hoping to get another chapter uploaded next week before finals.**

 **PS: To those of you that are worried our favorite father and son duo won't see each other again, don't fret. This is mainly a father/son fic so they won't be apart forever. ;)**


	3. The High Command

The look of absolute horror on Leia's face made Luke's heart sink into his stomach. He could even feel Chewie's shocked eyes on him.

"Are you sure he's your…" she stopped as if unable to say the word.

"Yes." The Jedi looked down ashamed, "Through the force I could tell he wasn't lying."

"How is that even possible? Out of all the people in the galaxy, that cruel, heartless monster is your-" she shook her head and repeated herself, "How?"

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

He was sorry for not telling her sooner. He was sorry his father had interrogated her. He was sorry his father was the reason Han was gone. He was sorry his father had killed so many.

Leia must have realized how upset he was for she closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath, "Luke, you're going to…..going to have to give me time to process this but," she continued in a stronger voice, "don't think this changes anything. You are still you. The farm boy who helped rescue me, the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, and one of my closest friends."

The boy looked up and gave a wobbly smile, "Thanks Leia. I was afraid that you, you know, wouldn't want to-that you'd stop…I didn't want to lose your friendship." He finished lamely.

"Vader being your-" she forced the word out like it was bile on her tongue, "-father doesn't define who you are. You didn't do any of the awful things he's done." She said glaring across the room at nothing. The blond knew what was going through her mind. She was remembering the destruction of Alderaan.

She held such hatred for his father and he couldn't blame her. His own feelings on the man were conflicted. He knew he should despise his father after everything he had done, both before and after his betrayal but….he didn't. His great anger had slowly simmered after escaping the Executor. He was still sore with him, there was no denying that, but he wished no ill will upon him. Why was that?

The moment that thought went through his head, the answer came in a quiet voice. It was because he still believed his father could change. Perhaps he was as naïve as Han always teased him of being, but deep down in his heart, he knew there was good in the man. All the time they had spent together showed his father cared about him, even if sometimes it was in an oddly possessive way. He somehow knew that it was not a ruse his father was putting on, but genuine care. If he were to ever relay those thoughts to Leia, she would think him insane.

Luke took a deep breath and slowly released it before turning to look at the princess. Her face was troubled still; he could not expect her to get over information like that in five minutes, after all, it took him quite a while to accept the truth.

The Jedi spoke up, breaking the silence, "So I guess you're going to have to tell the High Command?"

"I'm not so sure it's a good idea to tell them that detail just yet. Some members won't understand." She said standing up, "Besides, they'll have enough to worry about once we tell them your story." Leia sighed, crossing her arms and slumping forward ever so slightly, as if the weight of the galaxy was on her shoulders.

Chewie walked away from his position in front of the door and stood next to Leia, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. It was his way of saying everything would be okay.

She gave him a small smile, "Let's do this."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Xizor had departed the Executor not long ago finally giving Vader the time he needed to think. The Sith currently stood in front of a large viewport with his helmet removed as he intently stared out at the vastness of space. Somewhere out there was his son, no doubt racing back to his friends. So much of his focus had been put on Luke these last few weeks that now that the boy was not here, he was left feeling strangely empty.

His chest ached and he was not certain why. Was it he was disappointed that things did not unfold as he had planned them to or that he regretted ruining the bond the two had forged? He had to find his son and…and what?

There was a knock on the door bringing Vader back into the present moment. He could sense Piett's presence on the other side. Raising his hand, the door slid open and the Admiral walked in.

"You wished to speak with me, Lord Vader." Piett said giving a quick bow.

"Yes, I need you to hastily assemble a small team to go to Kamino to search the wreckage of Nuvo Vindi's ship. The regressing device should be there. Be sure this group has no links back to us in case they are captured."

"Of course." Piett said, "And the few men that saw Skywalker have been dealt with as you ordered."

"Good, now get to work. Time is precious and every second counts, now more so than ever."

The Admiral looked exhausted. He had him running ragged, but there was no time for rest. There was so much that needed to get done. The longer they waited the worse things would be and it was only a matter of time before Palpatine became suspicious of him if he was not already.

Piett exited, leaving Vader once again alone to contemplate his son and how to find him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Luke stood in front of a table filled with High Command members, Leia among them, each staring intently and listening to him retell his story. He tried not to shuffle his feet nervously as he talked, but he felt like an awkward specimen that they all were examining. He had never been one to enjoy being center of attention. He remembered shortly after he destroyed the Death Star, they had wanted him to give an inspirational speech to encourage and further motivate all the rebels. He politely declined and in his place Leia gave a far better speech than he could have ever come up with.

"-and that's when I overheard Darth Vader say he was going to be meeting with some prince. I'm pretty sure his name was Xizor."

He was almost done sharing what happened to him, but paused as a mumbling broke out through the crowed. Apparently the name must have meant something to them, because he had never heard of it before.

"So it appears Black Sun has their hands in affairs with the Empire as well." Admiral Ackbar spoke over the others.

Leia stood up from her seat where all eyes turned to her, "I thought the same thing when Commander Skywalker told me, but it does not come as much of a surprise when you look at the organization we are dealing with."

Luke felt really out of the loop, "So what exactly is Black Sun?" all eyes were back on him.

 _"Watch out Skywalker, your naïve farm boy is showing."_ He silently thought.

"It's a large criminal organization led by a Falleen named Xizor." Leia answered, " Not much is known where he came from, but he has helmed the organization for the last several years. Black Sun's methods of doing things are questionable at best, but they have lent a hand to the Alliance on more than one occasion. They seem to be playing to both sides of the war."

"Yes," Mothma replied, "Black Sun's main interest is in itself. It matters not to them who wins, so long as they may continue to operate. Now, Commander Skywalker, please continue."

Luke nodded, "Right. After that Vader returned to the Executor and locked me up before going to meet with Prince Xizor. I took that time to escape with Artoo by setting off an alarm and sending most of the personnel away from the hangar. The rest is pretty straight forward; I captured a ship and, with Artoo's help, flew back here."

Another murmuring began.

"So this machine is currently lost?"

"Yes. I am not sure where Dr. Vindi was storing it before-" he had almost said 'my father,' but caught himself, "-Vader cornered him. I never received the full details after that, I just know Dr. Vindi somehow died. Whether at Vader's hand or something else's I'm not sure."

"Vindi was a madman when he first surfaced during the days of the Clone Wars. There is just no way to trace where he was keeping it." Mothma said stone faced, "If it were to fall into the wrong hands, though, I fear the repercussions. From what I understand we already have a more powerful Vader on our hands and only you would be able to recognize him should he remove the suit,"

"That isn't all there is to worry about." Ackbar said shaking his head, "We need to see if we can get any information on what Prince Xizor and Lord Vader were meeting about. Neither men are the type to waste time personally to discuss something as trivial as negotiations for weapons production. It is likely something far worse."

"That does not bode well." A woman spoke up, "Especially with the recent rumors that have been floating around of the Imperials working on something grand in scale."

"I think its best we calculate our next move." General Dodonna suggested, stroking his gray beard.

"Yes, but first we must conclude what to do about Commander Skywalker's condition." Mothma said, which was immediately followed by hushed talking.

Luke switched from foot to foot awaiting their consensus. After a few minutes, Mothma faced him once again, "We have decided that what has happened to you should remain on a need to know basis." The Jedi was completely fine with that, "We also agree that you are to have a team of medics and scientists examine you to see if they can work on a way to revert you back to your normal age."

Luke was less thrilled with that. He really did not want a people poking and prodding at him, but if it returned him back to normal than he supposed he couldn't complain.

"Great, now that that has been decided can we break for lunch, I'm starving?" A particularly bored looking male asked.

"Before we dismiss, we have news about Captain Solo." Mothma stated causing Leia's head to snap in her direction and Luke to lean forward in anticipation, "We have just been in contact with Calrissian. He has received confirmation from a reliable source that Slave 1 has at last delivered Captain Solo to Jabba the Hutt on Tattoine."

"Then let's waste no time and get a team together to go retrieve him." Leia said with a firey passion, "I am going on this mission." She left no room for debate.

"We assumed as much, permission granted. Calrissian has also agreed to go." Mothma said.

"Good, I'm sure Chewbacca will also want to be a part of this. We will depart shortly after Calrissian returns. In the mean time I'll have some crew make sure the Falcon is stocked and refueled." Leia nodded.

"Captain Solo's my friend, I am going too." Luke said standing straight.

The room got quiet as all the members, Leia included, stared at him.

"Commander Skywalker, I understand your desire to help your friend," General Dodonna began reluctantly, "but right now you need to focus on yourself."

Luke felt his temper rise, but he pushed it back down, "There's nothing we can do right now to fix me, I'd be more useful out in the field!"

Luke turned to Leia, surely she of all people would understand why he had to be there to help, but instead of her rallying behind him, she said, "I'm sorry Commander, but with your current body, I think it would be safer if you stayed here."

Luke blanched.

"Alright, High Command is dismissed for a break before we come back together to discuss what we will do about these rumors." Mothma said.

Everyone got up and began to spread out, some leaving, others staying behind to talk. But Luke barely noticed as he didn't waste a moment before storming out into the hallway not caring who saw him.

"Luke, wait!" Leia called, catching up to him with ease due to her, by comparison, longer legs. She quickly stepped in front of him, blocking the blond's path, "Listen, I know you are upset, but you more than anyone know how dangerous Hutts are."

"Exactly, I more than anyone know which is exactly why I should be going!"

"Luke you're-" Leia began before Luke interrupted her.

"What? Too young?" he growled with clenched fists, "You do remember I'm not actually a child right?"

"That is not what I was going to say!" She snapped back, "I was saying you're not thinking rationally about this! I am just doing what's best for you!"

"I don't need you to decide what's best for me! At least Vader actually knew I could still handle myself!"

That wasn't entirely true. There were several occasions where his father wouldn't allow him to help.

Leia's eyes narrowed and Luke couldn't help but think how his father's eyes did the same thing, "Oh yeah, because he is really someone to go by. I'm sure after all he has done for you he deserves the father of the year award." She hissed out in a whisper.

Luke felt his entire face growing hot. For reasons he couldn't explain he felt the need to defend his father. The man had done a lot of things wrong, cutting off his hand and lying to him were just a few things off the top of his head, but there was more to him than Leia understood. There was a sliver of good in him that if given the chance, could blossom into something wonderful.

"You don't know him!" Luke countered.

"What?" Leia said shaking her head, "That monster stood there and made me watch as my home got blown up! I think I understand more than enough!"

She had a very good point, but Luke found himself blurting out, "There is good in him! He can change!"

"What? Luke, have you gone crazy!" Leia reeled, "Even you can't be that naïve! He has as much chance of changing as a nerf does learning to speak basic!"

Luke glared at her and she glared back. He had never argued with Leia like this before. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. The conversation had gotten far off course from what they originally were talking about. He shouldn't have brought his father up. He couldn't expect her to understand how he felt about him, but he thought she would understand his feelings about him going to rescue Han.

"Leia, I understand that you don't think Vader can change," he began in a much calmer voice, "but imagine if you were in my place and someone refused to let you go save Han. What would you do?"

He visibly saw Leia's posture relax as the tension in the air began to fizzle out, "I would..."she let out a sigh, "I would argue to go as well."

Luke nodded, "I don't want to be stuck in here waiting for someone else to figure out a way to fix me. I know you are worried about me, but I still have the force to help me. Besides," he smiled up at her, "I have you, Chewie, and Lando to watch my back."

Leia looked up at the ceiling and shook her head, "Life was so much easier before I met you and Han. You moon jockeys do nothing, but give me something else to worry about." She then bent down to his level and Luke gave her a brief hug, "If you get hurt I will be so angry with you."

Luke laughed as he pulled back, "I think the last five minutes of you being angry at me was enough to last a life time, so I'll have to be sure not to get a scratch."

Leia straightened back up and placed her hands on her hips as a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"Hey, what's that look for?" Luke asked, crossing his arms.

"When we were arguing, your whole face turned red." She chuckled. "And your voice hit a new level of high."

Luke pretended to pout, "Don't make fun of my voice!"

"I'm not. It's actually kind of adorable." She shrugged, "You're now like the little brother I always wanted."

The young Jedi rolled his eyes at that, "Anyway, when should Lando be returning?"

"Well before I dashed out of the meeting room after you, I heard he should be back any minute now." She said removing a strand of hair from her face, "Before we go greet him, both of us have things that need to get done."

"Like what?"

"I need to go back and talk the High Command into letting you go on the mission and you need to get to the medbay. I am sure they have been contacted and informed on the situation already." She started walking back towards the meeting room, "Oh and Luke, if anyone asks just tell them you're an orphan we picked up on Drinotu."

That made sense. It wasn't entirely uncommon for the Rebels to pick up and relocate certain children whose families might have been killed while serving the Alliance. Obviously it was hard to save every child affected by the war, but they did their best to help out where they could.

"Will do." He nodded, saluting her before he started off down the halls towards the medbay. The area wasn't terribly far from where he currently was. He just hoped no one tried to strike up a conversation with him. It would no doubt be a little odd to see a child walking around unsupervised, but maybe he'd be lucky.

For the first few minutes it seemed like the force would be cutting him a break for once as a handful of people passed by doing nothing more than raising an eyebrow at him…that is until he heard a voice echo down the hall, "Don't worry, I'm not bailing! I'll meet you guys in the mess hall in a minute. Just have to make a quick stop at the refresher."

Oh gosh, that was Wedge Antilles' voice and from the sounds of it he would be rounding the corner any second! He really liked Wedge, but the pilot was a chatterbox. He was very friendly and would talk to anyone or anything. Maybe if he kept his head down low and sped up his walking a bit-

"Hey, there buddy, I haven't seen your face before."

Too late. Luke peaked up to see Wedge's smiling face.

"Hello." Luke said shyly, trying to keep his head low.

The young pilot kneeled down in front of him, "Where'd you come from?"

"I was picked up on Drinotu." Luke found himself owling Leia.

"I've flown there once, they've got really pretty terrain." Wedge knew better than to ask why he was here as the cause in most situations was likely to be a traumatic one, "You're going to like it here. Home One may not be much to look at, but we've got the nicest people on board. I'm sure you'll make lots of friends. Have you made any already?" Luke shrugged so he continued, "Well, consider me your first then! I'm Wedge Antilles, a member of Rogue Squadron, we're a starfighter group. Do you like flying?"

He had to get away; Wedge would just sit here and talk his ear off.

"I-uh-I-"

"If you don't have anywhere to go you should come meet the rest of the Rogue's. I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you!" the pilot paused before trying to get a better look at his face, "You know, you kinda look familiar? What's your name?"

Time was up, "I got to go."

With that Luke sped down the hall leaving Wedge blinking in confusion. The Jedi didn't slow down until he felt he was a good distance away. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled in relief. That was a close one. Fortunately he had reached the medbay.

He slowly entered into the main lobby area. Straight ahead was a reception desk manned by a droid and behind it was the hallway that led to the multiple treatment rooms. Along the walls were a few chairs and worn stretchers for emergencies. Immediately the blond wondered who he was supposed to talk to. The droid?

He heard someone clear their throat and turned to face a middle aged man in a lab coat, "Am I correct to assume you are Commander Skywalker?"

"That'd be me." Luke nodded.

"We received a com stating you would be arriving any moment now." The doctor said pushing his glasses back up his particularly large nose, "We have secured a private room for you, come along."

Luke followed the man behind the counter, more than ready to get this examination over with. When they reached the designated room, two other beings were waiting inside; a female Twi'lek, also dressed in a lab coat, and a medical droid.

The door slid shut and the Twi'lek gave him a friendly smile, "Good afternoon, Commander Skywalker." She said with an accent he did not recognize, "I am glad you have returned relatively unharmed."

"Me too." Luke said returning the smile.

"My name is Dr. Quinzi, I am part of the Alliance's technology research team." She then motioned to the male that had led him here, "This is Dr. Adron."

The man, Adron, did not look up from the holopad he suddenly had in his hands, "Yes, I am one of the lead medical doctors." He said somewhat snootily. "I oversaw the man who installed your prostatic hand."

"Nice to meet you both." Luke said.

"Would you please sit on the examination table so we may begin?" Using the stepping stool he climbed up onto the table, dangling his legs over the sides.

"This is one of the strangest reports I have ever read." Dr. Adron muttered under his breath before placing the holopad on the counter and picking up a scanning device. He immediately held up the tool in front of Luke until it beeped. Squinting at the small display he nodded, "This says your body's age is that of a standard eight year old human male and that you have recently received some trauma to the back of your skull."

Luke unconsciously reached back and rubbed the bruise, "Yes, I had a small concussion, but it's not bothering me anymore."

The doctor ignored him and instead turned to the medical droid, "I want a bacta patch to be placed on the spot of contact."

The droid set off to gathering the needed supplies and Dr. Adron turned back to him, "According to your file, your normal age is that of a twenty two, correct?"

"That's right." Luke nodded.

"Interesting."

"I would like to ask you a few questions." Dr. Quinzi asked holding up her own holopad, "Do you remember what the transformation felt like?"

"It started out as a tingly sensation then began burning like fire. I eventually blacked out from it."

The medical droid approached him and Luke leaned forward to allow it to do its work. The droid placed a bacta patch on the injury and wrapped a bandage around his head to keep it in place.

"Do you know if your behavior has been any different?" Luke gave her a confused look so she continued, "What I mean to say is do you find yourself more prone to outbursts or immature emotions?"

"Er not that I'm aware of, no."

"I know this is strange, but we are trying to figure out if the effects are strictly physical or if there was some mental regression as well." She offered him.

"I'm pretty sure it's just physical." Luke said uncomfortably.

"Pretty sure is not good enough for us. We want to be certain." Dr. Adron piped in.

The Jedi let out a sigh which the Twi'lek offered a sympathetic smile too, "I know this must be exhausting for you, but I have a few more questions left before we take some blood and run you through some other examinations before we can let you go for the day. Then, hopefully, with both of our teams working together, we will be able to reverse engineer a way to return you back to normal."

Luke nodded, but knew he wouldn't be leaving this room anytime soon.

 **AN: May the Fourth be with You! As a way of celebrating Star Wars Day, here's a doubly long chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it. I've already started working on the next one which I am really excited about! Sorry for not a lot of Vader in this chapter, but there is more of him on the way, sooner than you think actually.**

 **A super big thank you to all the reviews! You guys give me a burst of energy to write! Thanks also for all the favorites and follows. You are all the best! Continue to let me know what you think and remember, the force will be with you, always.**


	4. Onward to Tatooine

When Luke finally left the medbay he felt like he could take a serious nap, but there would be time for that later. As he entered the hall he found Leia leaning against the wall waiting for him and judging by the grin on her face, he assumed she had good news.

"How did it go, Luke?" she asked.

"I feel like my brain has been picked apart with questions." Luke said rubbing his forehead, "But tell me what happened with you. Did they agree to let me go with you guys?"

"It took some convincing, but I managed to get little over half the Command to agree."

"Leia, you are amazing."

She grinned, "Come on, Lando docked not that long ago. He should still be in the hangar." She began walking down the corridor with Luke at her side, "So what's with the bandage?"

He lightly touched the mentioned fabric, "Remember how I said Vindi hit me in the head? The doctor just wanted to heal the residual bruise. He said I could take it off after a couple of hours."

They continued the rest of the way with a light conversation until they reached the hangar. Both looked around until their eyes fell onto the forms of Lando and Chewbacca standing in front of the Millennium Falcon.

"Seems Chewie beat us here." Leia said to Luke before approaching the pair, "Welcome back, Lando."

The gambler halted his conversation with the Wookie and turned his dazzling smile on the princess, "It's good to be back, even if it is only briefly."

"Good job on discovering the whereabouts of Han. It's long past due that we get him back."

"I couldn't agree more." He said adjusting the sleeve of his shirt, "Chewie told me Luke came back. Where is the kid?"

It was odd, someone asking where he was when he was practically standing right in front of them.

"I'll tell you later, but first is the Falcon ready for takeoff?"

Lando looked like he wasn't ready drop the topic, but decided wisely against further questioning when he caught Leia's death glare, "Right uh, the old girl is all set for the trip. Just give the word and we are out of here."

Leia nodded and turned around to Chewie, "Can you go find Artoo and Threepio?"

Chewie sounded out in agreement before turning and disappearing out of the hangar.

"So are you going to introduce me to your little friend?" Lando asked aiming a smile down towards Luke.

Leia looked around at the other people in the hangar before saying in quiet voice, "Let's board the Falcon and I'll tell you."

Lando's calm face slowly morphed into one of confusion, but he gestured to the ramp of the clunky freighter allowing Leia and Luke to enter first. Once they were inside the ship's hallway the gambler folded his arms across his chest, "Alright you want to clue me in on what's up, though I think I have an idea."

"Oh I'm pretty sure you don't." Leia said placing hands on her hips.

Luke suddenly took interest in a particularly nasty looking stain on the wall. Would these awkward conversations never end?

"No Leia I get it, I just never took you for the type to have kids."

Luke's face snapped up to Lando's with disgust matching Leia's.

"You think that-stang no!" Leia pointed sharply at the short blond, "THIS is Luke!

There was a pause where Lando just stared blankly, "Come again?"

The Jedi sighed, "It's me, Luke Skywalker."

Lando blinked, "Are you two pulling my leg?"

"Do I strike you as the kind of person to pull a ridiculous prank?" Leia asked cocking her head.

"Point taken." the man answered simply, "Okay, then if this isn't a joke someone needs to explain to me what I apparently missed, because last time I checked Luke wasn't shorter than you."

Luke slumped a little. Repeating what happened to him was seriously getting old. Luckily he didn't have to worry about that long for Leia responded first, "A machine struck Luke with an energy blast and reduced his age. The whereabouts of the machine are unknown and its creator is dead. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"Still leaves me with a couple of questions." Lando replied with a touch of sarcasm.

"Well there will be time for a more detailed explanation later." The princess said marching down the hall towards the cockpit, "Right now we have got to come up with a plan to save Han."

Both Lando and Luke were left staring at the corner Leia had disappeared behind. The older man's eyes slowly switched to looking down at Luke.

"This is…really weird for me." Lando said scratching the back of his wavy hair.

"Then think of how weird it is for me."

"True." The man let out a nervous laugh, "Seeing yourself like that for the first time must have been a real shocker."

"You have no idea." Luke said shaking his mop of hair.

"So," he began slowly, "-this happened while we were out scouting for Han?" at Luke's nod he continued, "Chewie and I were extremely worried when you didn't turn up at the rendezvous. We thought maybe a bounty hunter had gotten their hands on you. We called in for some backup and searched the nearby systems, but couldn't find a trace of you. Eventually, we were called back to Home One." Lando's voice lowered and he bent down closer to Luke, "Leia took it hard. Pretty sure she didn't get more than a few hours of sleep for several days."

Once again Luke felt guilty for what he had put Leia through. Lando placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "Glad you're back safe. Now, let's make sure we can get Han back in just as good condition -with the obvious exception of him being a six year old."

"Come on, not you too! I don't look that young!" Luke said exasperated.

Lando let out a hearty laugh, "We better catch up with Leia."

When they joined Leia in the cockpit she was starting up the systems and running a diagnostics check. She seemed to be completely concentrated on her task.

"Leia, what's the plan for getting into the Hutt's palace?" Lando asked leaning against the wall, "We can't exactly just stroll in there like we are on our way to milk banthas."

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself." Leia said turning in the pilot's seat to face the two males, "I don't know much about Jabba other than he is powerful and wealthy, like most other Hutts."

"He's also cruel." Luke added, "Jabba has no value for life weather it great or small. When I was young, he had his goons steal water from all us farmers during a drought. Many people died because of it." He shook his head to clear the memories and continued, "I definitely don't think we should go in looking for a fight. We need to see if we can sneak in and out without drawing attention."

Leia went to say something, but stopped when a familiar voice echoed down the hall, "How dare you say something so insulting to me you glorified garbage can! And to think I had actually missed you."

There was a beeping in response.

A smile spread across Luke's face at the banter. He could recognize the voice of C-3P0 anywhere. Sure, Threepio could get a bit annoying, but he still really liked the droid.

Artoo and Threepio entered into the cockpit followed by Chewie whose hulking figure blocked the doorway.

"Thank you, Chewie. I have a feeling we will be needing these two." Leia said tipping her head in the Wookie's direction.

"Oh Master Luke, Artoo told me all about what happened to you!"

"It's okay, Threepio, I'm alright really." Luke said, but the golden droid continued talking right over him.

"Why you are so small now! To be stuck in such a weak, incapable body must be dreadful, but my circuits are overjoyed to see you have otherwise not received much physical damage."

Luke just shook his head choosing to ignore the 'weak' and 'incapable' part, "I'm glad to see you too pal."

"I need everyone to buckle down for takeoff." Leia interrupted, "I am requesting departure clearance as we speak."

Chewie squeezed his way past the group to sit in the co-pilots seat as Luke clambered into the chair behind Leia. Lando slumped onto the only remaining chair, dragging a hand down his face.

Now that the gambler was sitting, Luke noticed how exhausted he looked. Lando had only just returned from his quest and now was back out on another with no time to rest. Luke felt pretty beat himself. It really had been an eventful day for all of them.

"Millennium Falcon, you are cleared for takeoff." A voice sounded over the speaker, "Good luck bringing Captain Solo back and may the force be with you."

Stars soon surrounded them as they left Home One behind. Leia quickly punched the coordinates into the navicomputer, "Let's hope we don't have the same rotten luck we've had with the hyperdrive in the past."

Chewie roared as he activated the jump to hyperspace. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when the ship rocketed forward into lightspeed.

"We should reach Tatooine in a little under a day's time." Leia said rubbing one of her eyes.

Chewie made a string of noises to which Lando answered, "I totally agree with you. The Wook says everyone looks ready to fall over and that it would be wise to call it an early night."

"But we still have to devise a plan?" Leia stated.

Chewie responded and Threepio translated, "Chewbacca insists your minds will be better operational after a meal and nights rest. My circuits could use a nice shutdown time as well."

Leia was thoughtful for a moment, "Well…I suppose that is true. We all have been going non-stop for a while." She sighed, "Alright, come on everyone. Let's go to this ship's poor excuse for a galley and get a bite to eat."

"Artoo, will you stay and keep watch over the scanners?" Luke asked as the rest of the crew exited. His friend whistled in compliance, "Thanks buddy. I'm sure Threepio will stay and keep you company."

Threepio, who was already partially out the door, stopped and turned around, "What?"

"Thanks." Luke smiled and slipped past the shocked protocol droid. As he hurried to catch up with the other's he found his mind wonder to his father. What was the man doing right now?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader exited the command deck and put full concentration on clearing his mind. He had to be sure there were no faults in his mental shields so he would not give Palpatine any vital information. The man could not know about his reduced age, but more importantly, he could not know about Luke's. The Dark Lord had postponed contacting the Emperor long enough and the time had come for him to make the dreaded call.

The door slid shut behind him as Vader stepped into the dimly lit communications room. Inputting the correct signal Vader kneeled down on a raised pedestal. Seconds felt like minutes as he waited. At last the fuzzy image of the Emperor appeared in front of him. A black cloak covered his body and a hood cast shadows across his aged face, but even through the shadows he could see the pair of glowing eyes.

Vader bowed his head as the image spoke, "Ah Lord Vader, how nice of you to finally check in." To anyone who didn't know Palpatine, the tone would have sounded calm, content even, but Vader knew better. He could sense the anger and suspicion hidden behind the words.

"My apologizes, master. I have been kept quite busy."

"Oh I'm sure you have." The figure tapped his fingertips lightly together, "Tell me, what has kept you so busy?"

"The negotiations with the Faust took longer than expected, but as you know I was able to secure a deal with them to manufacture Advanced Hyperdrives for your fleet."

Palpatine's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "But that is not all….is it?"

Vader had to tread lightly and be very careful of what he said next, "No, my master. I heard news of Skywalker and followed the trail, but it was false information."

Vader could feel the Emperor picking at his mental shields through the force and he raised his defenses, "Ever since you learned about the existence of Skywalker you have become more distant. Are you sure you chase him for the right reasons?"

It was said in a way that conveyed the feelings of a worrying father. It reminded him of how their relationship had once been. At one point in time, when he went by the name Anakin, he had seen Palpatine as a wise mentor…perhaps even somewhat a father or grandfatherly figure. But soon after his taking on the name Vader the man changed and became the Emperor. No, that was wrong. Palpatine had not changed; instead he had seen the elder for what he had really been the whole time. Any shred of warmth had been merely an act, a performance to get what he wanted. He had long ago stopped considering him a friend, but with no one left in the galaxy who meant anything to him, he had remained faithful to the old man.

An image of Luke floated to the top of his mind. Did his son view Vader how he viewed Palpatine? As a man who only put on a show of caring? A knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

He needed to stop thinking about Luke or Palpatine would be able to penetrate through his shields.

"I only wish to find the boy so he can become an asset to you."

Palpatine hummed, "I hope you are correct."

He needed to change the subject, "I spoke with Prince Xizor as you requested." He began, "He told me of a machine that can reduce the age of organic matter."

The Emperor eyed him before responding, "Yes, this machine will help us control the more rebellious planets."

"I was not aware this project was replacing the reconstruction of the DeathStar."

Vader could make out the sinister smile that spread across the other's face, "You said so yourself, my apprentice, you have been preoccupied."

The Sith pushed his anger down and replied cooly, "Are we sure we can trust Xizor? Is such a machine even possible?"

"It has already been tested." There was a malevolent joy in his voice, "Xizor's men are in the middle of retrieving the very machine and the file on the subject as we speak. He is quite a useful resource to us."

Vader gritted his teeth behind the mask. If Vindi had created a file on Luke before their confrontation on Kamino, it was that more imperative that he found Vindi's ship before Xizor's men.

"You seem distracted, Lord Vader." He said with false worry, "You are dismissed for now, but I do warn you. Think very carefully before you do anything…rash."

The image disappeared and Vader slowly rose to his feet. Palpatine was on to him. He was not sure exactly what the man knew, but at the very least he had a hunch. He did not have the time to wait around for the man's suspicions to die down before he acted; if his team did not reach the ship in time it was imperative he retrieve Luke now before others began hunting him.

Vader wanted to do nothing more than get this infernal suit off and think. He exited the room and began heading back to his private wing. There had to be some way he could track down Luke's location. The boy had scrambled the ships signal before they could successfully pin it down leaving no way to track him.

The Dark Lord watched as a black R3 unit rolled down the hall past him. It's build reminded him of another R-series droid.

And like that, the solution to his problem came to him. In his quarters, on his other set of clothes, he had the comm he had used while traveling with Luke. It had Artoo's communication frequency tuned into it. So long as that frequency had not changed and with a little bit of tinkering there was the possibility of using that same signal as a tracking device. Where Artoo was, Luke was likely not far off.

With a smirk he picked up his pace. He would be with his son again soon.

 **Exams are over! Thanks to everyone one who wished me luck, I passed everything! I don't know why, but this chapter was a STRUGGLE for me to write (not to mention I was distracted playing Uncharted 4). Luckily, I'm already over halfway done with the next chapter and things are coming a lot more easily, so I am really having fun writing it! It won't take anywhere near as long for the next update.**

 **As always, thank you everyone who has taken the time out to leave a review! You guys push me through the tough times! Please continue to let me know what you guys think!**


	5. Planning a Rescue

Luke awoke to the sounds of Chewbacca's deep snores above him. Blinking his grogginess away, he slowly sat up on the lowest level of the Falcon's triple bunk bed. Last night, the group had a quick meal where they explained in more detail to Lando about what happened to Luke, skillfully leaving out the truth of Luke's parentage. When their plates were scraped clean they had retired to bed, Leia taking one room and Luke and Lando taking the other, leaving Chewie to take the first watch shift. Even though the Falcon had sensors to warn them of any trouble, they all felt safer if at least one person stayed in the cockpit to keep an eye out.

Judging by the missing body from the top bunk, it was Lando's shift now.

Luke pushed his blankets off and realized that his bandage had fallen off in the middle of the night. Reaching behind his scalp he discovered that the injury was now completely healed. Smiling a little, he slid off the bed. The moment his feet hit the cold floor a chill was sent down his spine. Quickly slipping on his boots he headed to the cockpit where Lando was currently sitting staring out the viewport.

"Morning, Lando."

The man spun his chair and gave a small salute with one hand as the other was gripping a steaming mug, "Morning, Luke."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, in fact, I welcome the company."

Taking the seat next the gambler Luke cocked his head to the side, "What are you drinking?"

He didn't know Lando all that well, but he had learned the man considered himself a drink connoisseur like Han.

"This? Just hot chocolate, I crave the stuff when I get cold."

Luke's eyes widened as he sat up straight, "Hot chocolate! Where'd you get it?"

Lando was clearly taken back by the boy's shock and enthusiasm, "I made it in the kitchen. Why?"

"Can you show me how to make it?" Luke begged, "Remember how I said I was on Ladon? I tried it there for the first time, and I think it's delicious."

"Yeah I can show you. It's not hard to make really." Lando said taking a sip from his cup, "You know, it's really weird to think of you casually slurping down some hot chocolate with Darth Vader around. I think I would have been too on edge to eat or drink a thing."

"Well…I got use to him I guess."

Lando cocked an eyebrow at him and Luke decided he really didn't feel like talking about that now so he changed the subject, "Anyway, have you thought of any ideas on how to save Han?"

"Nope. Nothing that would work anyway." Lando shrugged, "You?"

The Jedi shook his head in disappointment, "I'm still working on it."

"Maybe some hot chocolate will get your gears turning." He winked standing up.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Turns out Lando was right, making hot chocolate was easy. Luke happily drank from the warm cup as his dangling feet lightly kicked at the air.

It wasn't long after this when Leia entered the cockpit, her hair neatly secured in a braided bun and a look of complete determination on her face, "Alright boys, time to get down to business."

"Are we not waiting for our Wookie friend to join us?" Lando asked, downing the last of his drink.

Leia shook her head, "Chewie stayed up late last night, taking more than his share of the watch shift before swapping off with you." She explained taking the seat behind Luke, "Let's start pitching ideas now. We can fill him in later."

"I was thinking," Lando began, placing his empty mug on the controls, an action both Leia and Luke knew would have displeased Han, "-what if we sent someone in Jabba's Palace undercover as one of his guards?"

Leia was thoughtful, "That may work, but the hard part is going to be escaping."

"You bet it is. Jabba's got hundreds of creeps working for him." Luke said, "They aren't going to stand by and watch some 'guard' walk out with a Hutt's prize."

"There has to be some point of the day where the guards are lax?" Lando snapped his fingers, "What if one of us gained the big slug's trust? Then when the place is down to a skeleton crew, we nab our guy!"

"That would take months of undercover work." Leia shook her head, "If we can't think of a quicker, more precise way of rescuing Han we will consider that though."

The trio sat quietly, each pondering a way to help their friend when an idea occurred to Luke, "What if we used a distraction? Then one of us can smuggle Han out while Jabba and his men aren't paying attention?"

"Smuggling the smuggler, now there's an idea." Lando nodded.

"Easier said than done." the princess leaned back and folded her arms, "It would have to be a pretty grand distraction for us to be able to get to him without anyone noticing?"

"Like a…riot?" all eyes were on Lando, "Hey, it's an old, but effective trick."

"And how are we exactly going to start a riot?"

"Jabba is like a tyrant on Tatooine," Luke said thinking about the crime lord's horrible deeds, "-so he's made a lot of enemies. Maybe some people would be willing to raise a ruckus at his place?"

"I think we are onto something." Lando grinned rubbing his hands together, "I know a guy who owes me a favor on that planet too. He'll be able to point us in the direction of just the kind of trouble makers we are looking for."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

There it was. Floating right outside the viewport window was the very planet Luke had dreamed and strived to get off of for more than half his youth. Tatooine. It had been several years since he had left the dust ball behind. He had changed a lot over since then too.

He let out a shaky breath as Leia guided the Millennium Falcon through the atmosphere and into the Mos Eisley space port. The Falcon gently touched the ground and Chewie powered everything off. The rebels exited the freighter and were immediately assaulted with the heat of the twin suns.

Looking around the port Luke realized that nothing had changed. Everything appeared as it had the day he left. They pushed their way through the crowds of particularly scruffy looking beings.

"Look at all the ruffians. Oh I really don't like being back on this dreadful planet." Threepio fussed, "Why couldn't Han have been taken to a cleaner, more friendly planet like Naboo?"Artoo whistled out a retort which clearly displeased the protocol droid, "What? I am not! You take that back, Artoo-Detoo!"

"Lando, where exactly is this man who owes you a favor?" Leia asked keeping a careful eye on everyone around her.

"He's close by." Lando answered, "He's the owner of Chalmun's Cantina."

"Is it the cantina right outside this space port?" Luke asked knowing exactly where they were going now.

"Actually, yeah. Had a drink there a few times huh Luke?"

"Not exactly." The Jedi answered, "That's where Ben and I met Han and Chewie."

Chewie let out a series of grunts to which Lando chuckled at, "Chewie says you completely stood out and looked like you had never so much as stepped into a bar much less drank a day in your life."

As Chewie and Lando continued laughing Leia looked down at Luke, "If the locales are anything to go by I'm guessing the cantina isn't a charming little tavern?"

"Ben once referred to it as a hive of wretched scum and villainy." Luke answered.

"He'd be right about that." Lando said before gesturing ahead of him, "Speaking of which, there is the very place."

The group approached the old, dirty building and all stopped when Leia came to a standstill right at the entrance. She gave Luke a sympathetic look, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go inside with us. We want to try to blend in and bringing you in looking like….well you know, I don't think anyone would take us seriously."

Luke sighed, but nodded in understanding, "I'll just wait outside then."

"Thanks, Luke." She said giving an apologizing smile.

"Oh and as I'm sure Artoo and Threepio remember, they aren't particularly friendly to droids in there."

"Well the owner owes me so he can make an exception this once."

Leia thought for a moment, "Actually, I think it's a good idea that we leave Luke at least with Artoo." The domed droid chirped out in agreement and rolled next to the blonde's side.

"I'll stay with Master Luke as well. No sense of angering any of the patrons of this establishment."

"No, you're coming with us. We might need a translator." Leia smirked.

"Oh dear."

"We'll be quick, Luke." She waved and disappeared inside followed by Lando, Threepio, and Chewie.

When he could see them no more the young boy turned around and patted Artoo, "Looks like it's just us buddy. Come on, let's go over there." He said pointing to a shady spot that was out of the way of pedestrian traffic and was placed in front of an alley between two buildings.

Reaching the corner he plopped down on a short set of stairs and wiped some sweat off his brow, "Geez, it's so weird being back here." He said, resting his head in his hands, "Only thing different now is there are no Stormtroopers around."

Luke continued to people watch in the stuffy, midday heat letting his mind wander to his Aunt and Uncle. He knew there was no time right now, but he really hoped he'd get the chance to visit their graves. He continued daydreaming when suddenly a large, scaly creature approached him.

"Hello." It growled out giving him a snaggletoothed smile.

"Uh hello?" Luke said not liking the feeling this man was giving him.

"You wouldn't mind helping out me and my friends would you now?" as he said this two other sentients came to stand next to him. One was a muscular, female human and the other a Bothan with an eyepatch.

Luke sensed a fourth character come up from behind him, but he kept his eyes fixed on the being in front of him, "Sorry, I really can't." he said slowly rising to his feet, "Try asking someone else."

"Well that's okay, we don't really need your approval, because either way you're gonna help us." The gravelly voice said examining its dirty claws, "You're worth money either dead or alive so either way works for us. Come quietly and we can guarantee you will live, boy."

Worth money? Were these bounty hunters? Had his father sent them? No, that couldn't be right. His father wanted him alive, of that he was certain. These thoughts ran through his head as he began gathering the force around him.

"Why am I worth money? Who is your employer?"

"You are an odd child, I really expected you to be in tears by now, but I don't ask questions, I just get the job done. Now shut up and come quietly and-"

Luke took that moment to blindly elbow the being behind him and heard a satisfying grunt in response. He immediately followed up by force pushing the trio in front of him to the ground. Not wasting a second Luke took off into the crowd, "Come on Artoo!"

Luke pushed and shoved his way through the sea of people trying to remain calm. The Jedi cast a glance over his shoulder and saw a hooded person chasing him. It must have been the one behind him that he elbowed. They started gaining on him; that is until Artoo spewed out a string of oil all over the ground. Several people slid and cursed as they slipped in it. By the time the hooded figure reached the spot there was a pile of people already on the ground, sending him tumbling on top of them.

"Good job, Artoo!" Luke cheered, before sobering, "Why do you think they are after me?"

His friend whistled causing Luke to furrow his eyebrows in response, "You think they know who I am? But how could they? And who hired them?"

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely registered when the muscular woman appeared in front of him! Luke skidded to a halt and turned around only to see the Bothan closing in behind him.

"Sithspit, this isn't good." he muttered, mind reeling.

He had to be careful about using the force around so many people. Standing still he reached out to the force and fully focused on the people charging him from both directions. When the force screamed out at him he dropped to the floor causing the Bothan and woman to collide into each other! Luke managed to scramble out of the way before they fell on top of him. As he got back up to his feet the woman reached out and grabbed his leg. He panicked only for a moment before Artoo came to his rescue and rolled over the woman's arm! She shouted out in pain and released her hold.

Luke started running again with Artoo close behind, "Keep up!"

The two weaved there way through the crowds until they stumbled upon a narrow alley. Luke quickly slipped into it and kept running until they reached a dead end with a door. It was clearly the back entrance to a building. It could be someone's store or house or whatever that he would be crashing into, but turning around was not an option. Besides, he could use his reduced age to his advantage in this case and play the part of the lost kid.

Luke quickly jammed his finger into the button and the door slowly creaked open. Luke squeezed through before the door had even slid open all the way. Music and talking assaulted his ears as his eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimly lit space. When he was able to clearly see the room he had entered was packed with various beings squeezed into booths all centered around a bar.

They were in the cantina. At some point they must have looped back in the direction they came from. Luke slowly walked further into the tavern looking around for his team. He was not very surprised when the clientele did not spare so much as a glance at him. Finally his eyes fell upon Leia's figure and he began heading towards her.

Suddenly the door he had entered from was forced open and all four of the bounty hunters rushed in. Their furious eyes locked onto him and they stalked towards him, the snaggletoothed leader in the front. The being shoved a Rodian out of the way out of his way and grabbed Luke by the back of his shirt before the boy could get away.

"You have caused me a lot of trouble." The leader snarled drawing a blaster from his holster, "Alive is no longer an option for you."

Before Luke even had time to react, the leader was tapped on the shoulder. It turned around to face the very Rodian he had shoved.

"Can't you see I'm busy." He ground out. The Rodian spoke out in its native tongue, a language that clearly the leader understood for he spat back, "I don't care if I spilled your Tatooine Sunset. Buy another one!"

A fist was drawn and a second later Luke found himself on the floor as the lead bounty hunter stumbled back into a table hand covering his punched eye. The entire table of customers began yelling at him and stood up in outrage. In the blink of an eye a fight broke out between the four bounty hunters and the sentients they had angered. Luke thanked the force for this rare luck and hurried to Leia who had just turned to face the fight.

"Luke?" she said clearly surprised by his appearance.

"Leia, we have got to get out of here."

Across from Leia a dark skinned woman with tattoos covering her face stood up, held out her hand, and spoke Huttese.

"Runel says that it appears the conversation has ended and it has been a pleasure doing business with you." Threepio explained.

Leia grasped the outstretched limb and shook it though she spared a glance back at the fight going on behind her, "Tell her we will meet her crew on the outskirts of his Palace in an hour."

Threepio got one word out before Luke interrupted and speedily translated the message to the woman. She looked down with an amused grin of her face revealing a golden tooth. Giving a small salute she released Leia's hand and swaggered out of the bar.

Lando whistled, "Now that's a fine looking pirate."

"Luke what are you doing here? Did you start that brawl?"

"No, well sort of, but not really." At their confused looks he waved his hands, "Look it doesn't matter! What matters is there are bounty hunters who are after me and they are currently distracted by that fight. So let's make a quick departure before they realized I've slipped away."

"Bounty hunters?" Leia said standing up and leading them out of the cantina, "Is it Vader? He's the only other person who knows about your 'condition?'"

Luke shook his head squinting at the intense change in lighting, "I don't think so. These guys said the reward is to bring me in dead or alive."

"I can't think of anyone else who would know about the change expect for Vindi?" Leia said as she continued walking past all the street vendors, "Is it possible he is still alive?"

"You said there was a huge explosion?" Lando said, "No one could have survived something like that?"

"It's still a possibility though; we can't take it off the table until we have proof otherwise."

Luke sighed, nothing could ever be easy for them could it, "Anyway, the woman you were talking to, she agreed to help?"

"We are going to talk more about this later." She said clearly not finished with the topic." But yes, her name is Runel. She and her band of pirates have a score to settle with Jabba apparently, but even so she drove a hard bargain. She definitely made out well with this deal."

"Are you sure we can trust her, Mistress Leia?" Threepio asked clearly not liking any of this.

"We can only hope money and revenge are powerful enough motivators for her."

"We also managed to solidify the plan." Lando added, "And it's a good thing you fought to come along Luke because you are a pivotal part of it."

Luke raised his eye and Leia nodded, "Yes, remember how you told me you used a mind trick of sorts when you escaped the Executor? We are going to need you to do that to get us inside."

"Alright, then what?"

"We get to use disguises, my idea." Lando said smugly.

"You really have been pushing for disguises huh?" Luke smirked.

"What can I say, I love a little game of dress up."

Leia rolled her eyes at the gambler, "Try to stay focused, gentlemen. We and the pirates will be spread all throughout the interior of Jabba's Palace, and when Runel gives the signal, her crew will attack and we'll rescue Han while Jabba's men are preoccupied."

"Sounds good to me." Luke said pushing his sleeves up. Man he really wished he had baggier clothes for this weather right now.

"We only have an hour to get everything we need and reach the meeting place so there is no time for rest or dragging feet." With a serious look she whispered in such a low voice Luke barely heard it, "Don't worry, Han, we're almost there."

 **Here's the next chapter as promised! I love reading everyone's speculations in the reviews! Thank you all for your continued support! In the next chapter they put their plan into motion! What could possibly go wrong? ;D**


	6. Chaos at Jabba's

"Thank the force we are almost there, because I'm going to pass out from heat exhaustion if I have to stay in this robe any longer," Luke said, wiping sweat from his face.

Currently they were riding in a speeder to the land just outside of Jabba's Palace. Luke found himself highly grateful for the breeze, no matter how hot it was, because he was currently outfitted in a Jawa disguise. The attire made him feel utterly ridiculous, but Leia said it was appropriate for his size and would make him stand out less. At least he now had a blaster hidden on his person to defend himself if things didn't go according to plan, which they usually did. He would rather have a lightsaber though. Maybe after this whole mess was done he could learn how to build a new one.

Bringing himself back to the present he looked at Leia. Her outfit covered every inch of her and was even equipped with a voice changing device to make her gender unidentifiable.

"Hey, I'll trade you, Luke. This helmet smells like a dewback stall." Lando complained adjusting the aforementioned headpiece that obscured half his face. He also wore a pair of gauntlets and a chest plate.

"Enough whining you two." Leia said, her voice changer currently powered off.

"Hey, at least we were able to convince Threepio to go back to the inside of the Falcon or else we'd have to listen to him complain." Lando replied.

In the middle of hunting down disguises, everyone had gotten tired of the droid insistence that this was a bad idea. So when he began telling Leia the odds of this being successful the princess had asked him if he would go back and clean the inside of the Falcon. Threepio had been shocked and had not wanted to be by himself in such a sketchy space port. But with Luke and Lando's help they were able to persuade him that the Falcon would be much safer and his cleaning would help them out a great deal.

"Chewie, how much longer?"

Chewbacca's fur had been dyed a temporarily darker color and he had been given an eyepatch to help disguise him further. He had only just stopped grumbling about the sticky feeling the dye gave him.

The Wookie barked the answer and pointed ahead. Everyone followed his finger to the large vehicle hidden behind a sand dune.

"There's our pirates." Lando said.

"Is that a Sandcrawler?" Luke asked as they came closer to it, "They must have stolen it from some Jawa's and retrofitted the inside."

"Pirates will be pirates." Leia sighed, "Stop here, Chewie. We'll hide our speeder behind this dune and walk the rest of the way."

The pirates were waiting conversing and laughing loudly in the shadow of the Sandcrawler. Their leader, Runel, smirked at the approaching group. She shouted out a phrase and held up a dusty bottle of beer before downing half of it.

"Someone seems excited." Lando said.

"She's making fun of our disguises." Luke whispered.

"Let her. As long as we get what we came for she can laugh all she wants." Leia then said in a louder voice, "Captain Runel, is your crew prepared?"

Luke translated Leia's words into Huttese and listened to her giddy response, "She says they are all ready and that some of her men are already awaiting us inside as they have been working undercover for a few weeks now. She also says it's time for you to hold up part of your end of the bargain. What is she referring too? I thought you paid her already?"

"I promised her I would come up with a way to sneak the rest of her crew inside." she answered.

"Which involves me using the Jedi mind trick, right?"

She nodded, "Tell her we have, and for her and her crew to follow us."

Luke relayed the message and soon the now significantly larger group approached the front gate of the palace. Leia signaled for everyone to hide out of sight. Then she and Luke approached the gate. For a moment Luke thought the gate would remain closed, but it slowly started rising. The two walked inside and the blond could immediately feel the temperature drop a few degrees due to the shade. Two Gamorrean guards glared at them and raised their weapons as they approached.

"Alright, Luke, do whatever you have to do." Leia whispered, powering her voice changer on.

Luke took a deep breath. He had never tried mind tricking two people at once before, but Yoda had said things like that were only different in his head. All he needed to do was concentrate. He reached out to the force and felt the two guards' presences in front of him. The beings began harshly jabbering at them in Huttese.

"Any time now would be great." Leia whispered, her voice distorted.

Luke blocked her voice out and concentrated harder. The force swirled and reached his fingertips, awaiting his manipulation. Slowly, he waved his hand, "You will stand here and allow everyone you see to pass without saying anything."

The two guards slowly lowered their weapons and blinked once before returning to their positions on the wall. Leia was in awe.

"Luke…that was amazing."

The Jedi couldn't help, but blush, "Thanks. We have one more person up ahead to get through, then we're in."

Luke walked up to the Twi'lek that stood between him and the entrance to the main area. He could hear the music playing and see multiple people drinking and having a good time. The Twi'lek examined them with a look of distrust then snarled revealing his pointed teeth. But before the Twi'lek could say anything, Luke reached out and performed the same mind trick on him. He realized this time it came a lot easier to him.

He smiled to himself under the hood. Ben would be proud; Yoda as well. And his father...Luke's shoulders sagged a bit at the thought of the man, but he quickly straightened back up. There would be time to think of his father later. He had to keep his mind in the present.

With the Twi'lek now leaning docilely against the wall, Leia turned around and motioned to Chewie whose head was poking out from the front gate. He immediately crept inside followed by the pirates. Luke raised an eyebrow at Lando who stayed behind and crouched down next to Artoo and whispered something to him. The droid's lights flashed and it rolled back against the wall. The gambler stood up and jogged to catch up with the others.

Runel came to a stand next to Leia and gave her a thumbs up. Luke carefully listened as she began speaking.

"She says good work and that she's ready to ruin this slug's day."

"Alright we are going to go in a few at a time." Leia said in a hushed voice, "This will hopefully stop things from looking too suspicious."

Runel tapped two of her men on the shoulder before pulling a hood over her head and strolling inside. After waiting a few minutes, Leia signaled to Lando and three other pirates to follow. The process continued until only Leia and Luke remained.

"Ready, Luke?"

"Let's do this."

The two slowly walked in, receiving only a few looks from the patrons. The smell that wafted past Luke's nose was atrocious. Clearly none of these thugs had ever heard the word 'bath' before. The young Jedi caught a glimpse of Chewie in the corner, but made a conscious effort not to look in his direction. As they entered further into the room Luke saw Jabba the Hutt sprawled out on a pedestal. The grotesque being laughed and ate some squirming creature as two Bith simultaneously performed acrobatics and played instruments in front of him.

He felt a somewhat rough shove from Leia and looked up at her. She discreetly gestured her head at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Luke's eyes widened because hanging there frozen was Han Solo.

It was unsettling seeing the normally lively man just frozen in place like that. Not to mention his face was one that looked as though it were screwed up in pain. Luke had to push down the urge to ignore the plan all together and free him now.

Slowly and inconspicuously as possible, Luke and Leia began making their way over to Han. They were almost there when Leia was suddenly seized by the shoulder.

A sentient with a scarred up face snarled at her, "I ain't never seen you two 'round here, especially the Jawa."

"I don't know why you sound so surprised. With Jabba's influence constantly expanding I would think one would be used to new faces." Leia said, her voice sounding like a low croak as she shrugged off the hand. She was going out on a whim, but it was a good bluff, "How long have you been working for him?"

The sentient smirked, "I've been working fer him 'bout three years."

"Great, then maybe you can tell me what's with the boss's interesting taste in decor." She said tossing her head in Han's decoration.

"That one of a kind piece serves as a reminder for what happens if ya try and double cross ol' Jabba. The body of a pathetic smuggler named Han Solo is trapped there in carbonite." The sentient let out an obnoxious laugh, "The Great Jabba has joked before about shattering the legs and arms on him then unfreezing him to see what would happen. Of course, that would only be when he no longer finds the wall piece amusing."

Luke felt his skin bristle at the cruelty. He wanted to punch the man right in his smug face, even if it was very unbecoming of a Jedi. Judging by Leia's clenched fist, she wanted to hit too.

"That would be interesting." She said, the voice changer hiding all emotion.

"So what, is your Jawa buddy here mute or something?"

"No, he just doesn't like to talk much."

"What's Jabba's use for a Jawa anyway?"

"He's my partner and he has more connections than you would believe. After all, who would suspect a Jawa?"

Another burst of laughter, "That is brilliant."

Luke was starting to wonder how they could shake this guy when Lando showed up, "Hello, my friend. Wow those are some wicked scars! From one troublemaker to another, tell me, what's the story behind those?"

The man fully turned around and seemed to inflate with pride, "It's not a story for the weak hearted! I almost didn't make it out of that gundark infested cave alive!"

"Gundarks!" Lando said, putting on a performance of acting interested.

As the man continued to brag, Leia and Luke snuck off. They finally reached the area near Han and slowly hovered there against the wall. All that was left was for Runel to give the signal which made Luke wonder...

"Hey," he whispered, "What is the signal Runel's supposed to give anyway?"

"I have no idea, but she said it would be obvious." Leia said scanning the room for the pirate captain, "I really wish she'd hurry up though before someone notices us lurking here."

Luckily, they did not have to wait long for mere seconds after those words left Leia's mouth Runel stood up on top one of the splintering tables. She began stomping on its surface until the entire room quieted down. She then looked straight at Jabba and began speaking, her voice full of mirth.

Luke didn't have to wait for Leia to ask, he immediately began translating, "Runel says that everyone must listen up because she would like to say something. Now she is going on about how the Great Jabba runs a tight shift and does not allow for failure. That he has double crossed many people to get to where he is today." Luke listened as she went on, "She says that all worked well for him until recently."

Runel lowered her hood to reveal her smirking face.

"She just told Jabba that he double crossed the wrong pirates."

Then, surprising them both, Runel finished her speech by speaking in Basic, "What a lovely day for revenge."

The pirate captain pulled out a blaster and fired a shot into the air. All her crew leapt from amongst the crowd and shadows whooping and yelling. In a matter of seconds Jabba's throne room transformed into a battle field.

"That's as good a signal as any." Leia said jogging over to the side panel of Han's carbonite encasement. She quickly pressed some buttons and stepped back.

It was an odd sight to watch. The carbonite appeared to heat up as it turned a bright red and Han's fingers began to twitch. A moment later it melted away and Han plummeted forwards. Luke quickly jumped out of the way as Leia shot forward to catch him, sending her and Han crashing to the floor.

Han was shaking and appeared to be coated in a sticky residue. Was it sweat?

"What the hell." His voice was shaky, "W-where am I?"

"Jabba's Palace." Leia replied helping sit him up, "Try to calm down."

His head snapped in her direction and he tried rubbing his eyes, "Jabba's –kriff! I can't see."

"That is the hibernation sickness. You won't be blind for long."

His head snapped in her direction as he tried to scoot away, "Who are you?"

In that moment she seemed to have remembered her voice changer was still activated. Quickly she ripped off her helmet and said, "Someone who loves you."

"Leia…" He sounded relived.

"Save the reunion for later." Luke said, flipping down his robe's hood, "We've got to get out of here before Jabba realizes his favorite wall piece is missing!"

"Who is-" Han began before Leia interrupted him.

"No time, Han, stand up!"

Wobbling slightly, he got to his feet with Leia supporting him. Han's hand blindly reached out in front of him as Leia dragged him forwards.

"This is going to be hard! It's chaos in here!" Luke yelled over the laser blasts, "I'm not sure how we are going to cut a path through all the fighting!"

The blond could practically see the wheels turning in Leia's head as she calculated a plan, "Maybe if we stick close to the walls we could-"

"You traitors aren't going anywhere." it was the scarred faced man from earlier. He cracked his knuckles and approached them, "I don't think Jabba's going to be too pleased with you trying to make off with his prize."

Growling, he threw a punch at Leia, but she ducked, pulling Han down along with her.

Luke didn't waste a second to retrieve his hidden blaster! Quickly he took aim and fired it into the man's leg. He let out a scream of pain and crumpled to the ground.

Leia retrieved her own blaster and began working her way through the crowd.

"One second, I'm in Cloud City getting screwed over by Lando, then I blink and suddenly I can't see a thing and am in the middle of a giant shoot out!" Han shouted as he stumbled over a fallen pirate, "This is the third worst situation I've been in."

"I probably don't want to know the first two." Leia grunted, shoving someone out of her way.

There was suddenly a roar that could be heard over all the chaos. It was deep, angry, and belonged to Jabba.

Luke couldn't see the crime lord due to the crowd towering over him, but he couldn't mistake those words. They had been found out.

"Leia, we're in trouble! Jabba's spotted us!" he shouted as several of the Hutt's gang turned away from the pirates they were fighting to reach them. Luke and Leia began shooting in all directions, but could feel that they would be over powered any minute!

"It's hard guarding Han and fighting them back at the same -move left!" she forced Han away from an oncoming laser blast.

"Being pushed around by you ain't exactly a joyride for me either!" he replied, recovering from the shove.

"We're getting surrounded!"

Big hairy arms came swinging down, knocking three thugs out of the way. Chewie stepped forward as his eyes honed in on Han.

Rushing forward he scooped up the smuggler and roared as he began barreling over people to reach the exit.

"Whoa! Chewie? Put me down you big lump!"

Luke swiftly followed after Chewie with Leia right behind him. They just had to get out of here and then they'd be able to race back to the speeder and be in the clear! The Jedi heard a muffled yelp behind him and spun around to find Leia being pulled back against a man. She wiggled in his hold before smashing her foot down on his. He released his grasp of her and she sprung forward turning her blast on him. The man reacted quickly and grabbed the weapon and wrestled it away from her. Luke was preparing to force push the man away from Leia when Runel came bounding across two of the few tables that somehow remained upright throughout the brawl. Leaping off of it she planted a boot in the gangster's chest and pushed him to the ground. She winked at them before turning back around to throw a punch at another approaching sentient.

Jabba's voice could once again be heard over the crowd and Luke turned to see the Hutt smirking directly at them. He sounded oddly…happy?

"That's strange?" Luke said, "He just said 'It looks like our plan has hit rock bottom.' I'm not sure what he means, but it can't be anything good."

"Right, let's-" Leia's sentence turned into a scream as the floor dropped out beneath them sending the two crashing down into a chamber below them.

Luke's head smashed into the hard ground, sending black spots dancing across his vision. They had been standing on top of a trap door the whole time.

Leia sat up slowly, wincing at the pain. Carefully she made her way over to Luke's side, "Are you okay?"

The Jedi moaned, but sat up and nodded, "You?"

"I've been better." She smiled.

Holding his aching head he looked up, "We fell a long way. Do you think-"

A low growling cut him off. Luke and Leia's eyes widened as they shot gazes to the shadowy corner the sound had emitted from.

They weren't alone. The ground vibrated as if it had a pulse and from the dark a large beast emerged.

"That's a rancor!" Luke shouted scrambling to his feet.

The rancor stood towering over fifteen feet tall! Spittle mixed with blood from an earlier meal clung to its mouth as it let out a piercing roar!

Luke raised his blaster and began firing at it. The lasers did no damage to the creature's thick skin, only serving to further enrage it.

"My blaster's no good!" Luke said, taking several steps back, the bone covered ground crunching beneath his boots, "We've got to think of something fast!"

If only Leia wasn't trapped down here with him, then he could have attempted to use a force jump to leap back out. A lightsaber would be pretty useful now as well. But there was no use thinking about any of that now.

"This way!" Leia said, grabbing his smaller hand and pulling him towards a gate. She released her hold of him and began yanking on the bars, "It's locked!"

On the other side, Lando came running down a set of stairs, his helmet now missing.

"I saw you guys fall!" Looking around he found the gate's opening and closing mechanism, "Just hold on and I'll get you out of there!"

As the gambler reached the operating panel, Luke noticed a shadow appear on the wall at the top of the stairs. Someone was coming down!

"Lando, behind you!" Luke shouted in warning.

Lando spun around on his heel as a Weequay appeared holding a large blaster. With one quick motion Lando had retrieved his own blaster from a holster on his waist. Both men fired, but Lando had the better aim. The Weequay grasped at his chest where the laser had struck him before toppling down the stairs, landing in a lifeless heap at the bottom. Unfortunately, the now dead being's shot had grazed Lando's shoulder and ultimately hit the gate's control panel.

Shaking off the pain, the man turned back to the now sparking mechanism, "Stang, the darn thing is shot to hell! We can't open the gate this way."

"Well you better figure out a way soon because we're currently keeping a rancor company!" Leia yelled.

In that moment, a large hand started to lower towards them. Gripped with panic, Luke threw out his hands. The monster stumbled backwards as the force push contacted him. It crashed into the opposing wall causing the entire structure to shake and bits of rubble to fall from the ceiling.

Lando blinked away a shocked expression before he grabbed the bars and gestured behind him with his head, "I am going to find, Artoo. I told him to wait near the exit. There is an access point into this place's system near there. Using it we can raise the gate."

"Hurry, Lando, we don't have much time! It's getting back up." Luke said watching as the rancor rose to its feet.

"Hang in there you two!" The gambler yelled running back up the stairs.

Leia turned around to face the rancor that was now back on its feet, "We have to buy some time."

"Here, take my blaster." Luke said tossing the weapon her way.

"But it's useless!" Leia said raising an eyebrow as she caught the pistol, "You saw so yourself, it can't penetrate its thick skin."

"We're not trying to kill it though. We just need to keep it from having us as a late afternoon snack." Luke explained scanning the environment for something useful, "Bones are scattered all over the place; I can use those. If I can get behind him, we can flank him from both sides."

"Luke, that's too dangerous. You won't be able to get there fast enough like that."

He knew what she meant by "like that." She was referring to his de-aged body. He may not look like much of a threat, but he was still capable enough.

The rancor was starting to reach down for them again, "You're just going to have to trust me!" he did not give her time to answer as he immediately took off running, aiming for between its legs, "Cover me."

He knew Leia was probably furious with him, but he could worry about that later. Right now the rancor had noticed him as a closer target and was trying to grab him. Thankfully before he could reach him, Leia fired several shots at the beast's face. It shrieked and straightened back up. The rancor took one more step towards Leia as the young Jedi had reached the wall behind it.

"Luke…" he heard Leia call out in warning as it reached for her.

Closing his eyes, the blond concentrated on a large bone. The sounds of the battle faded away as he put all his energy into his connection with the force. He could feel the bones presence and lifted it. Opening his eyes he was pleased by the sight of the femur hovering a foot above the ground. A second later he sent it hurtling towards the back of the rancor's head. It cracked against the thick skull and shattered. The semi-sentient being turned around, roared, and stalked towards him.

"Your turn, Leia." Luke said looking around for another decent sized bone.

She began shooting once again at the rancor and it quickly changed directions and once again began moving towards her again. The Jedi then took his chance and hurled an enormous chunk of rock at it. The rancor was furious now and began blindly swinging its long arms. They smashed into the walls sending pieces of rock and metal cascading to the floor.

With speed Luke did not think it capable of it approached him. Leia fired laser blasts at it, but the rancor completely ignored the hits. Its rage was focused in on Luke.

"Lando better hurry up." Luke said, concentrating on dodging the creature's hand. In the process of avoiding one hand, the blond did not see the other in time. Fingers wrapped around his torso and painfully squeezed. Luke grunted in discomfort as he was raised to the rancor's face. The reptile opened its mouth wide revealing jagged and chipped teeth.

"Luke, catch!"

The Jedi looked just in time to see Leia throw a bone towards him. Stretching his arms as far as they would go and using a little help from the force, Luke caught the object. Quickly turning, he thrust the solid bone into the rancor's mouth. Surprised by its inability to close its mouth, the rancor opened its palm sending Luke toppling to the floor.

He landed on sharp piece of metal and gashed his leg. Leia was at his side in a second helping him to his feet.

A loud clank echoed against the walls, and the two were relieved to see the gate rising. They sprinted towards it with the rancor hot on their trail, the bone now crushed by its powerful jaws. The creature lunged forward after them as they exited the pit! Luke was sure it would succeed in grabbing one of them, but Leia aimed her blaster at a bunch of cables that were transferring power to the gate and fired. Sparks flew and the gate slammed shut –right on top of the rancor!

Luke slowed trying to catch his labored breath, but Leia pulled on his upper arm, "We are almost out of here, we have to go."

Luke merely nodded and followed her up the stairs. They reached the top and ran down the hall that led to the front entrance. Lando, Chewie, and Han, who was now standing on his own two feet, stood around Artoo who was disconnecting from the wall.

"Don't let them escape!" Luke heard someone yell from behind.

Lando and Chewie pulled out their weapons and opened fire on the men that were chasing them. As Luke and Leia reached their group, they all hurried for the exit. Intense light blinded them as they rushed out of Jabba's Palace.

"Hold on, Artoo, shut the front gate!" Lando yelled.

"Wait, what about Captain Runel?" Luke shouted, distressed by the thought of locking their allies inside.

"Don't worry, they are pirates— trust me they will be fine." Lando said.

Artoo swiveled his head in Luke's direction, awaiting his approval. Sighing, the boy nodded. The droid rolled back inside and plugged into the wall as they covered him. Within a few seconds, the gate began lowering and Artoo hastily exited before the gate shut all the way.

They quickly made their way across the sand, not stopping to look behind them. Luke pushed his feet to go as fast as they could to keep up with the others! After they had made a little bit of distance they began to slow their pace.

"Woo!" Lando cheered, pumping a fist into the air, "We did it!"

"How's your sight, Han?" Leia asked, unable to mask a grin of her own.

"I thought it was back to normal." Han said, "But now I'm not so sure, because I think I see a kid running next to you."

"Oh that isn't your eyes, pal." Lando laughed, "In fact, it is someone you should know very well."

"What?" Han said looking around at everyone's amused expressions and appearing thoroughly confused.

"Maybe we should wait until we get to the land speeder to explain." Leia suggested, "After all, Jabba's gang could show up at any minute."

"I don't think so, sister." Han said shaking his head, "I want to know who this runt is now."

"Han it might-"

Luke really did not want the two of them to start arguing, especially so soon after rescuing Han, so he spoke up, "Han, it's me Luke."

The bickering fell silent and Han began to slow his jogging down to a stop as his eyes widened, "…Kid? What the heck happened to you while I was out of commission?"

"A psycho invented a machine and I was the guinea pig. This is the result."

Han stared blankly at him and Luke was ready for him to demand more information. What he was not expecting however was Han to start hysterically laughing.

Luke glared at him, "Hey, it's not funny."

"Are you kidding me, this is hilarious!" he gasped out clenching his stomach, "I mean, I know I have always called you kid, but now?" He broke out into another fit of laughter.

"Cut it out, Han." Luke said, his face turning red.

"And your voice is so high!"

Luke sighed, shaking his head in defeat. He knew Han would make fun of him, he just didn't think it would start at this very minute, but…he had missed Han too much to really get mad. His annoyed look turned into a sincere smile, "It's good to have you back."

Han's laughter slowly stopped and he looked slightly taken aback by Luke's change, "Yeah well, it's good to be back, kid." Scratching the back of his head, he continued in a more flustered tone, "Listen everyone, I just –uh- you know….thanks for coming after me."

"What are friends for?" Lando said, clapping him on the back. Chewie sounded out in agreement.

"The galaxy just wouldn't be the same with one less scoundrel." Leia smiled.

Han looked at her with uncharacteristically soft eyes and returned the smile. After a moment of sharing looks he cleared his throat, "Anyway, enough of this mushy stuff. Where are we headed?"

"The speeder should be behind this sand dune." Leia pointed.

Luke was grateful because he needed to sit and catch his breath. This day had been full of excitement and he couldn't wait to get back to the Falcon, have a good meal, and sleep. But when they reached the speeder's location all they found were a couple of pieces of scrap metal.

"Where-what happened?" Leia said coming to a stop.

"Oh no." Luke slumped forward, "It's been raided for parts."

"Great, just great. I get rescued only to get stranded out in the middle of the desert." Han said throwing his hands in the air.

"The town will take hours to walk to." Leia said folding her arms.

The Jedi looked up at the setting suns, "Night is almost here, and we're all beat. I don't think it would be safe for us to travel." Luke thought out loud, "We are going to have to find a place to hold out until dawn."

"Got any cave around here in mind?" Lando asked.

"Well…Ben's house isn't too far from here." Luke said, his heart panging slightly at the thought of his old mentor.

"That seems to be our only choice." Leia said, "We need to start moving, or else Jabba might find us. Lead the way, Luke."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Night had fallen over the wasteland, causing a dramatic decrease in temperature. This made Luke highly grateful he did not ditch his Jawa robe earlier. The group had passed the time by catching Han up on everything he had missed from their escape from Cloud City to what happened to Luke to the bounty hunters. Han had made a surprised comment about Vader being human, stating he thought he was a robot.

"So let me get this straight." Han said scratching his nose, "Both big, scary Vader and Luke have been de-aged, the machine is somewhere out there just waiting to fall into the wrong hands, the Empire is cooking up something big, and bounty hunters are after Luke and we don't know who sent them. That about cover it?"

"Basically." Luke nodded.

"Oh…good, didn't want things getting too easy for us."

Luke looked up at the star filled sky. There were so many questions and so few answers. It sometimes was hard not to feel overwhelmed by it all.

A chuckle pulled Luke from his musings and he looked over at the smuggler.

"You know," Han said with a lopsided grin, "when Lando said Luke was someone I should know, I thought he meant he was, like, my illegitimate kid."

Luke made a disgusted face, "You have children!"

Han shrugged, "I really hope not."

"Don't we all." Leia said, "The last thing anyone wants is mini Solos running amuck."

"Oh come on princess, there could be plenty of worse things than my offspring."

"Oh really?" Leia said challengingly.

"Yeah, like little Vaders. Those would be pretty volatile."

Han and Lando started laughing, but no one else joined them. Luke felt his heart stop. Leia and Chewie cast glances in his direction, both clearly thinking the same thing. Luke knew he'd have to tell Han of his relation to Vader; he was his friend after all and it wouldn't be right to keep something so important from him.

Han broke off from laughing, "Why the grim expression, Luke?"

"Han, Lando…there is something I have to tell you." Luke said, feeling a knot form in his stomach, "Leia and Chewie already know."

For a group of five people and one droids, things became awfully silent.

"Alright, kid, I'm listening." Han said giving him his full attention.

"Vader is…my father."

There was no sense in sugar coating it or beating around the bush. Han was the type that wanted things said flat out, so Luke had done just that. And now that it was out there he watched as Han's face changed from confused to shocked to disgusted. Lando just stiffened and starred at him. This was obviously not what either of them had expected him to say.

"Hold on Luke, I think that carbon-freezing might have affected my hearing because I thought you said that Darth Vader was your father."

"That's why he didn't hurt me when we were traveling together." Luke said shaking his head.

"I thought your father was murdered by Vader?"

"So did I until he told me the truth on Bespin."

Han scoffed at that, "Right, the Emperor's right hand psycho tell you the truth."

"I could feel it through the force. I know it was the truth."

Leia came up and placed a hand on Han's shoulder. The smuggler merely glanced down at it before his eyes focused back on Luke. He then paused before answering, "Well, Luke, if you believe him then I guess that's good enough for me."

"I'm sorry…" he cast his gaze towards the ground.

"There is nothing to apologize for, kid. So you got a rotten sperm donor, can't say I don't either."

"Ew, Han, do you have to word it like that?" Luke said disgusted, but secretly happy for the man's way of making a difficult conversation lighter.

"Point is, that scumbag might be your old man, but that doesn't change the fact that you're the same old dumb kid I've known for the past however many years." He said reaching out and ruffling Luke's hair. The boy quickly ducked out and moved away annoyed albeit smiling.

"Speaking of years, how many is it going to take us to get to this house, Luke?" Lando asked, successfully changing the topic for which Luke was very grateful.

"Actually, we're here." Luke said squinting at the building in the distance.

Luke could feel their collective relief as they approached Ben's old home. As they got closer Han took notice of the structure's small size.

"Uh kid, do you think we are all going to fit in there? I mean I know you can, being ankle biter size and all, but us grownups take up a little more room."

Would this teasing never end?

He pursed his lips, "It will be a tight fit, but we'll have to make it work."

The door to the house was cracked open and upon closer inspection, Luke could tell someone had forced their way in, but how long ago that was, he was not sure. The boy went to enter, but stopped when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking up he saw it belonged to Chewie who was knelt down beside him shaking his head. Slowly, the Wookie entered the abandoned house first, shimmying the door all the way open. Closing his eyes, the Jedi reached out through the force and felt out the home. He could feel no force presence other than Chewie's inside. The Wookie eventually came back out and gave everyone the all clear to go inside.

Like worn out cattle, shivering and tired, the group trudged inside. The front room was a disaster. A skylight illuminated the area to reveal a mess of overturned objects and all covered in a thick layer of dust. Something or someone had clearly rummaged through here at some point. Luke couldn't imagine they had found anything of much value. Ben did not seem like the kind of man to keep expensive things around.

"A bit of dusting and some bright paint would do wonders for this place." Han said, punctuating his sentence with a sneeze.

Leia manually slid the door closed. Turning around she exhaled tiredly, "Alright everyone. Let's try to clear the middle of the room so we can have space to lie down. Han, Lando, and Cheiwe, help me move all the furniture against the walls. Luke and Artoo, see if you can find rations or anything useful."

Luke and Artoo started in the small kitchenette area where they were only able to recover a few outdated rations. The blond placed them on a table Lando had just finished putting upright and watched as Chewie hefted a large wooden chair into the corner.

As Luke watched he began to hear something, it was almost like a quiet whisper. It appeared like no one else had heard it. Turning around he listened carefully, it was coming from a back room. Carefully he walked towards the room. Artoo followed him into the space that turned out to be Ben's room. It was shrouded in darkness and Luke could barely make out the mattress on the floor.

"Artoo, can you give me some light?"

The droid beeped and activated one of the lights on its domed head. The beam light up part of the room and Luke walked further in, feeling drawn to the corner. When he reached the spot he discovered a small, wooden chest that had somehow remained untouched.

"Shine the light over here." Luke said, reaching to unlock the clasps. Artoo complied and rolled closer to the boy.

The Jedi felt as if he were in a trance as he lifted the creaking lid open and peaked inside. Buried in a chest were various spare gizmos and gadgets which Luke immediately recognized.

"Lightsaber parts. They're lightsaber parts, Artoo! I can finally build my own lightsaber!" Only one problem remained…how did he build a lightsaber? Well, he had promised Yoda he would return. He supposed he could ask him how to do it. "I need you to hold on to these for me."

An empty try slid open from Artoo's body and Luke carefully placed the parts inside, "Come on, let's go see the others."

They ate the ration bars in silence, everyone looking equally eager for sleep. Once they finished they spread out across the house and called it a night.

Sleep came quickly for Luke. He couldn't remember much of what he dreamed about, but his dreams were interrupted by a bad feeling that woke him. He opened his eyes to see the shadowy figure of a tall man, the side of his face vaguely illuminated by the starlight that trickled into the room.

He went to gasp only to have a hand cover his mouth and before he could think of what else to do he felt the familiar force presence. Luke's eyes widened as the figure leaned in closer revealing itself to be none other than his father.

 _"You are coming with me, son."_

 ***Gasp* Vader's back! Thank you all so much for your reviews, you guys are truly the best! This is the longest chapter I have ever written reaching over 6,700 words! I hope you guys enjoy it! Please let me know what you think! :D**


	7. More Surprises

Luke gaped up at his father, momentarily frozen in shock as Vader's words echoed inside his head. His brain, that had only moments ago been asleep, was now wide awake and swarming with questions. How had his father found him? Would he threaten to hurt his friends if he didn't go with him? Would he have to fight him?

Vader grabbed one of his arms and gently pulled him into a sitting position, but made no movement to remove the hand covering his mouth. His father was back in his tunic and the familiar scarf covered the lower part of his mouth, probably to keep him from inhaling sand.

A movement in the corner of the room caught his eye, wrenching him from his thoughts. Suddenly Han was standing with blaster pointed at the back of Vader's head. The smuggler's hair was askew from sleep, but his eyes looked anything but tired.

Luke grabbed his father's hand and yanked it away from his mouth, "Han don't!"

But the smuggler merely smirked, "Don't worry kid, we've got this."

It was then Luke noticed Chewie and Lando were no longer sleeping on the floor, but also standing and poised for combat. The only person left was-

"What is going on?" Leia's voice demanded as she exited Ben's room with blaster in hand.

"I think we have another bounty hunter out to assassinate Luke. Who sent you buddy oh mine?"

"Assassinate?" Vader's eye's practically glowed with hatred, his gaze never leaving Luke, "Someone is trying to have you killed?"

"Well we're not-"

"Like you don't know! Who hired you bounty hunter scum?" Han said taking a step forward and adjusting his aim.

"Captain Solo," his father began slowly, "I suggest you point that weapon somewhere else before I remove the limb holding it from your body."

Han appeared slightly taken aback at the recognition, but he quickly gained his composure, "I would love to see you try."

Chewie roared in agreement, showing his pointed teeth. The Wookie was furious.

"Everyone calm down!" Luke said standing up and holding out his hands, "Just-just lower your weapons."

"I'm not so sure that's a wise idea." Lando said giving Luke a confused glance.

"What gives, kid?"

Leia reached out towards Han's blaster and pushed it down, though her gaze never left Vader's form. Her eyes were calculating and her own pistol remained firmly in her hand, ready to attack if anything happened. Han looked at Leia with great confusion, but did not fight against her.

Vader stood back up, his tall form demanding attention in the cramped space, "He needs not explain anything to you. I am taking the boy and suggest no one throw their life away in a futile attempt to stop me."

"I wouldn't gamble your chances on that. It's five to one, face it, you're outnumbered." Lando said.

"I'm sure you are familiar with the phrase quality over quantity." Vader countered smoothly.

Leia finally spoke up, her words spoken slowly, "Luke…you know this person, don't you?" The blonde's eyes visibly widened. At his nod she continued, "Is this…?"

She knew; Leia had somehow figured out who the man in front of her was. She glared at Vader as her fists tightened around the blaster.

Han and Lando exchanged matching looks before the smuggler snapped, "Alright, someone here better start explaining."

Luke dragged a hand through his hair and spared a look up at the towering man next to him. His father's eyes were staring straight back at the princess's, "This is uh…." His mouth had gone suddenly dry, but he cleared his throat and forced the next sentence out, "This is my father."

A thick blanket of silence draped the room and in that quiet Luke found himself thanking the force that he had explained everything to his friends earlier or else this already messy situation would be ten times worse.

The Jedi watched as what Leia had put together moments ago, struck everyone else.

Lando blinked, back stiffening, "Your father? Than that means that's-"

"Darth Vader." Leia spat, hatred dripping from her voice.

His father completely ignored them and instead turned his attention towards Luke, "Who is after you?" His voice was commanding.

"We're not sure who sent them," Luke quickly said. The bounty hunters that were after him seemed so irrelevant compared to the fact that his father was currently standing next to him, "-but what about you? How did you find me?"

"That is not important."

Of course he'd say something like that.

"Well, I don't care who you are or how you managed to hunt him down." The smuggler growled, thrusting a finger at Vader, "You aren't taking Luke anywhere!"

"I see you have recovered from your carbonite encasement, Captain Solo, but should you continue with your obtuse behavior, I shall silence you permanently."

"No more of your threats, Vader. If it weren't for Luke, you wouldn't be standing right now." Leia said darkly, "But don't think we won't hold back if you try anything."

Luke flinched at those words. He was the reason they weren't trying to put an end to one of the galaxy's greatest threats. He knew they wanted to do nothing more than kill Vader. Leia especially was struggling against her instincts as the hand holding her blaster trembled in anger.

"You and your misfits aren't powerful enough to stop me." Vader said, unmoved by her emotion.

"I wouldn't underestimate us." Lando said through gritted teeth.

Back and forth comments were thrown, leaving Luke feeling he could do nothing but helplessly watch as the tension continued to escalate. The young Jedi knew it was only a matter of time before all patience was used up and someone would get hurt. He couldn't let that happen. The only way they were going to figure anything out was if they could all talk calmly.

Luke bowed his head in frustration. Like that was going to happen. His father and friends had absolutely nothing in common from which to base a civilized conversation off of! If only he could think of a way for them to channel their hurt and contempt for each other.

But there was something they had in common— a very important something, in fact! Maybe that's all would take…

"Wait a minute!" Luke tried to shout over the arguing.

"I grow tired of this banter." Vader said, hand hovering dangerously close to his lightsaber, "Come, Luke, we have much to discuss."

"But father, what if-"

"Luke is our pal, we won't let you just take him!" Lando said, taking a threatening step forward.

"I have an idea, we should-" Luke tried again only to be further ignored.

"Don't make me laugh, Calrissian," Vader sneered, unclipping the lightsaber from his side.

The Sith thumbed the weapon on and, just like that, everyone's weapons were poised at him. Luke sprang into action! Quickly, he clambered on top of the discarded table they had earlier shoved against the wall and bellowed, "Stop!"

All eyes were back on him and he knew if he was going to say something he needed to say it now before they went back to fighting, "I…I know we have our differences."

"No kidding." Han said, his eyes returning to observe Vader.

Luke ignored him and continued with determination, "But in the end we want the same thing; to dethrone the Emperor!"

"I know what you are trying to get at," Leia interjected, "-but even so, the outcomes we want are different."

"I know it sounds crazy, but think about it." Luke insisted, "Right now both of our sides are struggling. The Alliance has the manpower Vader needs, while Vader has resources and inside information the Alliance needs! If we combined our efforts, we could finally put an end to the Emperor's evil!"

"A team up? No offense kid, but that idea is more nuts than what you usually come up with." Han said.

"Any deal he makes with you he will go back on it just as quickly." Lando warned, clearly remembering what took place in Cloud City. "Believe me, you can't trust this guy."

"Exactly! Consider everything he has done to us –to you!" Leia pleaded, "And what about after we win the war? He won't allow the Republic to reform, he'll want the throne for himself!"

"You are all talking as if I would even consider taking my son's proposition." Vader said, "I am only interested in collecting him. I do not need any aid from you to accomplish what I desire."

Luke went to counter when a bad feeling rippled through his body. Something was wrong. His father must have felt it too for in the next instant Luke found himself no longer standing on the table, but instead in Vader's arms.

"Put him down-" but Leia never got to finish as she was interrupted by a tiny, blinking sphere. The object rolled in from the entrance which, Luke hadn't noticed until now, had been left cracked open from Vader sneaking inside.

"Kriff, it's a thermal detonator!" Han shouted.

There was but a second before everyone was scrambling for cover. Both Luke and Vader quickly thrust out their hands and grabbed the detonator with the force. Then, simultaneously, the pair launched it back towards the doorway. Vader clutched Luke tightly as he flipped the nearby table over and dived behind it! The device exploded right outside the entrance causing the door to detach and fly hazardously across the room to the spot Leia had previously been standing in. Dust and sand seemed to come to life and swirl around the room causing loud coughing fits to be heard.

His father grabbed the end of his scarf and held it up to Luke's face. The boy quickly seized it and covered his mouth from the sand. The young Jedi's eyes watered as the grains assaulted his face, but he dared not close them.

Luke could sense the approaching figures from the outside the house.

 _"There are four of them."_ His father sent through the force.

The window near where Chewie was hiding shattered as two figures leapt inside. Through the blur Luke could vaguely see one of the beings jump on the Wookie's back. Chewie roared and furiously began trying to shake the figure off.

 _"We have to help him!"_ Luke panicked to his father, tugging to get out of the hold.

 _"Wait, look at the doorway."_ His father replied.

The dust was already settling as a bulky figure stepped inside and boomed, "You got away once, boy, but you ain't getting away again!"

With wide eyes, Luke recognized the voice. It was the bounty hunter leader who had attacked him earlier that day! Things had gone from bad to worse!

Han spat a bit of blood out, "As if one unwanted guest isn't enough."

 **Guess what, I'm still alive and writing! Sorry for the long wait and short chapter guys! You are all so kind and patient. I feel so bad for taking such a long time that I am going to try and get another chapter out to you by this week! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm pumped to write the next scene! Please let me know what you all think!**


	8. Fighting the Bounty Hunters

Luke wiggled his way out of his father's hold and stood up, glaring at the gang's leader. This day was getting better and better. Not only had his father managed to track him down, but the bounty hunters as well! Was he really that easy to find?

"Step away from the boy and maybe we will consider letting you live." The leader grinned, patting a stun baton.

"Geez, Luke, when did you get so popular?" Han voiced, taking a step forward, though his eyes kept wondering back to Chewie who still had the Bothan on his back.

"I wouldn't move if I were you, sweetheart." The muscular woman stepped in behind her boss, "We are only after the boy, but I wouldn't object to breaking a few skulls before leaving."

"How many people know where we are?" Lando asked exasperatedly. "Are there any more hiding outside waiting for a dramatic entrance?"

"Lucky for you, this is all of us." The woman smirked.

"And unluckily for you, 'all of us' is enough to take you down easy!" the boss said with confidence.

"We'll see about that." Han said immediately whipping his blaster to the side and aiming at the Bothan. Firing the weapon, the sentient howled and lost his grip on Chewie. He stumbled back next to his hooded ally, gripping his smoking arm. Chewie swung his large arms at the pair, but they both dodged it. The hooded fellow slipped underneath the attack and advanced towards Han and Leia while the Bothan stayed behind.

Lando saw this and held his weapon up to intervene, but a booted foot came crashing down on his hand followed by a loud snap! The blaster went flying out of his now broken hand. He held the assaulted limb to his chest and hissed in pain as the woman responsible reared back for another attack. Quickly, the gambler crouched down under her punch.

"Normally, I wouldn't hit a lady," Lando grunted before sweeping one of his legs out and sending her tumbling onto the floor. "But you are no lady."

Not far away from him, Han was stumbling back from being kicked in the chest by the hooded enemy.

"Geez this guy is unreal fast!" Han said catching his balance, "What kinda spice have you been taking to make you so revved up?"

"Less talking, more helping!" Leia yelled as what almost felt like a warning resounded through her body. Without thinking she stepped to the left as the bounty hunter threw his fist into an uppercut.

"I'm not even going to ask how you managed to dodge that," Han said with a sense of awe. He landed a hit on the hood's shoulder.

"Good instincts, I guess," she answered, though she herself had no clue. Leia wasted no time pondering it though and swung her blaster downward! The bounty hunter grabbed her wrists and twisted them until she dropped the pistol in discomfort. Still in his hold she snarled and smashed her knee into the hood's stomach. The figure grunted and hunched over.

Leia was only momentarily surprised when Han wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She instantly caught on, thrust both feet forward, and planted them onto the hood's head. The sentient dropped to the ground like a ton of durasteel.

Luke's attention was on the slowly advancing leader.

"I know you have those special powers, but this time there is nowhere to run," the boss glowered.

Special powers? He must be referring to when he had force pushed him earlier to escape.

"I was generous." He continued in a harsh voice, "You know we don't have to take you in alive and you once again chose to die? Only this time you're taking all your little pals with you."

Luke closed his fists in a tight grip; he may not have had a blaster or a lightsaber, but he had the force with him. Using that maybe he could find a way to bring down this guy.

Perhaps it came from their bond through the force or maybe it was just from traveling with Vader for so long, but Luke did not have to look at his father to know what the man was preparing to do.

"You, bounty hunter, have made a fatal mistake," Vader sneered and thrust his hand forward. Gripping the leader with the force he slung him across the room into a chair which splintered under the strength.

His father stalked after the fallen leader who was quickly scrambling to his feet, "Y-you have that sorcery too! You're both Jedi!"

"I am no Jedi," Vader growled, swinging his weapon downward. The leader quickly held up stun baton and blocked the blow.

"I won't-ngh-die that easily!" the boss grunted.

"I have no plans of killing you yet," his father said as the leader pulled back, "You have information I want."

"You won't be getting anything out of me," the sentient said, with a confident grin that did not reach his eyes. Groping behind him with one hand, he grasped a piece of the broken chair and hurtled it at Vader. Within a split second Luke reached out and stopped the wood in midair before tossing it to the side. The leader blinked in shock before his face morphed into one of great rage as he called to his team, "Hurry up you space slugs! Get over here and give me some back up or I swear I'll-wait! Where do you think you are going?"

Luke followed the leader's gaze to his three companions. The woman had the unconscious hooded being slung over her shoulder while the Bothan was already halfway through climbing out the broken window. All three looked quite scuffed up.

"A bounty's not worth anything if you're too dead to claim it. These guys clearly aren't normal," she said with her blaster pointed in a stalemate with Han, "You can throw your life away by yourself."

With that she disappeared out the window.

"Three slim balls down, one to go," Han smirked wiping sweaty bangs out of his face. He, Leia, and Lando closed in the gap between them and the now lone leader. Sheer panic was clear of the bulky being's face as realized he was outnumbered and outmatched.

"N-now hold on a minute-!"

Vader did not let him finish. With a simple gesture from his hand, the leader smashed against the wall with his feet dangling just above the ground where his stun baton now lay.

"Don't kill him! We need him alive!" Leia said, glaring a hole through the back of Vader's head.

"I am well aware of that, princess," he said as he slowly stalked towards the sentient's frozen form, "You are going to tell me what I want to know. Who hired you?"

Luke watched the scene as if he were hypnotized. His father hovered only inches away from the leader's face who was trying desperately to break the hold the force had on him.

"I-I can't tell you!"

"That's not an option." Vader seethed, "I will ask one more time and I had better get an answer, who hired you?"

"No! I really can't tell you," he grunted in discomfort, "I don't know who it was! I was just contacted about the deal and took it."

Luke could feel that wasn't the whole truth and so could his father, "But you have an idea of who your employer was, don't you?"

"I…it's only a guess."

"Tell me."

"F-from what we can tell, we think it's that Black Sun leader, Prince Xizor." The Jedi could feel his father's anger flare before the leader continued, "Now that I told you maybe you and I could work out some sort of deal. What do you say we-"

There was a sickening crack and the body slumped to the floor, his head dangling loosely against his chest. The bounty hunter was dead.

 **An: Once again this update comes weeks late! I'm sorry guys, but I hit a bad depression due to personal reasons and it became impossible to write. I eventually pulled out of it and seeing everyone's continued interest and excitement about this story got me writing again. I know this chapter is on the short side, but I wanted to get something out there for all of you that have been patiently waiting!**

 **Thanks for continuing to cheer me on with all your amazing reviews! Please continue to let me know what you think! I really appreciate each of you! 3**


	9. Truce

Luke winced at the sight, but knew in this case it was necessary. The bounty hunters' leader had nothing but ill intentions towards them and right now he had other matters to worry about.

"What does Black Sun want with Luke?" Lando asked, holding his broken hand against his chest.

"Perhaps Vader would like to enlighten us," Leia said accusingly, "Luke told us you were meeting with Prince Xizor when he escaped. What exactly was it you were talking about?"

All eyes were on Vader, Luke's included.

"I was going to keep this information to myself, but the situation seems to be…escalating," Vader said, pulling his scarf down and away from his mouth. Luke could practically feel everyone's eyes widen as they studied the face of the man who had caused them so much pain. If Vader noticed their gaping, he said nothing of it and continued, "Xizor has been working closely with the Emperor for some time now. I had not realized how closely until my last meeting with him. He informed me that he is the one who funded Vindi to create the organic matter rejuvenator."

Luke listened intently. He could think of multiple reasons why such a machine would be useful, but why did Prince Xizor want him dead?

"I knew the device was last located on Vindi's ship in Kamino and deployed a covert team to retrieve it before Xizor could." Vader's eyes narrowed, "Unfortunately the team reported back and said the equipment was missing along with data files that may have possibly been on board."

"Hold up! You're saying this guy has files talking about Luke being Vindi's little test subject?" Lando said with pursed lips, "But why would him having that information be cause to want to either capture or eliminate the kid?"

"That I do not know, but intend to find out," Vader said darkly.

"That's a very nicely spun tale, your lordship, but that's all it is," Han said adjusting the sleeves of his shirt.

Luke bit his lip. Back to arguing again. His friends and father were going to disagree until morning if he let them. Not that he could blame them. He himself was still upset with his father for lying to him. Still…he could tell his father was speaking the truth in this case. But there was no way he'd be able to get everyone else to believe-

"You said Xizor is working with the Emperor," Leia said bluntly, "What does the leader of the galaxy want with Vindi's device?"

"He seeks to use it for two reasons. One is similar to the Death Star where he plans on wiping planets worth of sentients out of existence without destroying the planet itself. The other…" Vader bent his head down slightly causing his bangs to fall into his eyes, "-is to regain his youth which would make him far more powerful than he already is."

"More powerful?" Han scoffed folding his arms, "Why because he will be able to run faster? I have seen a few holos of the Emperor and he's nothing but an old fossil."

"Do not let looks deceive you." Vader stated, "Frail he may appear, but his mastery of the dark side of the force is what makes him more dangerous than a hundred men. If he were to have a more physically capable body, he would be an even greater threat to the galaxy than you can imagine."

"Wait, did you say the force? The Emperor has the force?" Lando blinked taken aback.

"Yes," Vader said folding his arms across his chest, "Very few people know that he is a Sith."

"I'm surprised you're telling us all this." Leia said copying his stance.

"Me too," Han interjected, "Leia, don't tell me you believe this guy now? He may look more human, but this is still the poster boy for the Empire we are talking to."

"I have not forgotten who he is or what he has done, but I want to hear what he has to say," Leia said before turning back to the Sith with a stern look, "Vader, I need to know, why did you betray the Emperor?"

No one had expected her to pose that question, though it was a good one. Luke had never really thought about it. What had caused his father to turn his back on the man he had so loyally followed for years?

"Why does that matter?"

"It matters very much."

The two remained with eyes locked on each other for several seconds before the Sith answered, "The Emperor and I have been having…disagreements for quite some time now."

Leia scrutinized him for a minute longer before nodding, "Alright then."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Han said placing a hand on Leia's shoulder and with a sarcastic, semi-crazed smile added, "Leia, dear, may I talk to you for just a second?"

The smuggler then guided her past the rumble to the back of the room where they began whispering. Lando, Chewie, and Luke exchanged glances before the three started making their way over to the pair. The young Jedi stopped halfway there and turned around to look at his father. For a moment he considered waiting with him so he wouldn't be alone, but quickly pushed down those feelings. He wanted to hear what his friends had to say and…he wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to his father alone just yet. Instead he closed the distance between him and his friends

As Luke came to a stop next to Chewie, he began to be able to make out Leia's words.

"What would he have to gain from it?"

"Um I don't know, maybe leading us straight into a trap!" Han said sarcastically.

"I know it sounds crazy, but…I can feel that he is speaking the truth."

"You can feel it?" Han said looking particularly unhinged, "Now you sound like Luke!"

"I know, but I have to go with my gut instinct on this. If we…cooperate with Vader, we may have the extra push we need to topple the Empire."

Han rubbed his eyes, "This is such a bad idea."

"Han, please, I need you to trust me," she said, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

Han looked down at her hand intertwined with his then shifted his gaze up at the ceiling and sighed, "Well, practically every idea we have ever come up with is nuts and they have worked so far. What's one more?"

Leia gave him a sincere smile before turning to the others, "And you all?"

Chewie growled out a response to which Han replied, "You can say that again, buddy. Chewie says he backs you, but he's remaining skeptical and will be keeping a watchful eye on tall, dark, and creepy."

"Good, I plan on keeping watch over his every move myself." Leia said.

Lando scratched the back of his head with his good hand, "I trust your judgement, but what about after we defeat the Emperor? You said so yourself we have different ideas on how the galaxy should be run."

"And I still stand by that. The Republic and senate will be reinstated. If he tries to take the throne for himself, we will turn our fight on him," Leia said with resolve, "And I don't want any of you for a second thinking I have forgot what he has done to each of us. I don't think I ever could," she trailed off, her face reflecting past pain, "This decision is being made weighing the pros and cons for the rebellion and for that alone, I think we should form an alliance with him."

All eyes shifted down towards Luke.

"I'm with you, Leia. I can tell my father is telling the truth on this matter as well and I think his help will be beneficial, but I have to ask. What made you change your mind? When I brought it up earlier, you were against it."

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Logically it doesn't make any sense, but…I feel something, almost like a whisper, telling me he is honest about wanting to overthrow the Empire."

Luke couldn't help but think how much that sounded like the force. Did she…could Leia possibly be force sensitive? Unfortunately, he didn't get any more time to think about it as Leia straightened up, took a deep breath, and strode over to Vader.

His father was knelt down next to Artoo, who Luke hadn't notice come out from the back bedroom. Upon seeing the princess approach, Vader stood back up and rested his hands on his hips, "You have something to say, Senator Organa?"

"Vader, on behalf of the Alliance, I wish to form a truce as a means of destroying the Empire."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader remained silent. He had not bothered to consider a team up because he had thought it impossible for them to interact cordially. After all, only minutes ago his son had proposed the very same thing and it had been immediately shot down. For whatever reason, Organa had changed her mind.

"And your party is in agreement with this decision?" he asked scanning those standing behind her.

"Yes, they are." Leia said, jutting out her chin.

For a greater cause, Organa and her friends sacrificed their personal feelings and were willing to work with a former enemy. How admirable, but would such a truce be a help or a hindrance to him? Hmm….he supposed Luke was right that they did share a common goal and the rebels would indeed provide him with the additional man power he needed. On the other hand, working with another organization meant having to come to decisions together instead of the much faster alternative route of commanding a team by himself.

His eyes turned to Luke who appeared to be nervously awaiting an answer.

If he agreed to this, he would be able to stay closer to his son. In the end, that was the deciding factor.

"Senator Organa, I accept your offer, but do not be mistaken. I will not be made to follow any orders I disagree with."

He did not need to see his son to be able to tell what he was feeling. The force around him was radiating a sense of relief.

"That holds true for the Alliance as well." Leia said, "You would also do well to remember we won't be letting you out of our sight."

"Naturally," Vader said smoothly. He did not find that the least bit worrying. If he ever felt compelled to retract his truce, he knew he'd be able to disappear leaving no trace behind.

"Now all that's left is to return to Home One and make this official," Leia said dragging a hand through her tangled hair, "And try to convince them I haven't gone out of my mind."

The princess was thinking about what she had just done and trying to make sense of it herself.

"Welcome to the rebellion, Vader." Han said, "Do try to not stab anyone in the back."

The Sith ignored the irritating smuggler and instead turned to walk out the entrance way, "This building is unstable, I suggest we leave before it collapses."

"Really, we make a truce and not even a minute later you are trying to be the leader!" Han exclaimed. It was that moment the structure chose to creak and the man winced, "But you know, leaving this house doesn't sound like a bad idea."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The group quickly piled out of Ben's house and into the night. There was a cool breeze that brushed past Luke and made him shiver. He pulled his Jawa robe around him tighter and examined the others. All except his father looked terrible. Leia had dark circles under her eyes, Chewie stood with a slouch, Han was in the middle of yawning, and Lando appeared to be swaying on his feet. He was sure he looked no better. The adrenaline from his father showing up and the surprise battle with the bounty hunters had faded, leaving them all looking like something drug up from the spice mines of Kessle. They had only slept about an hour before everything happened. Still…even though he was ready to curl up and sleep, he couldn't help the feeling that a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

He had feared that his father and friends would fight until someone ended up dead. But by the will of the force, they had reached an agreement. At least he knew they would destroy the empire together. As for fixing him though…

Luke felt his previous peace disappear and be replaced with a tangible sorrow. He still didn't understand why his father didn't want to help him. He lied straight to his face and then hunted him down to try to take him back against his will? He was conflicted between being glad his father was on their side now and dealing with the past lie. He supposed, like everyone else, he would have to put that aside and focus on saving the galaxy.

Chewie released a series of grunts to which Han rolled his eyes, "Oh really, you're tired? Here let me make you a nice pillow out of sand."

"Luke, you are most familiar with this area." Leia said, "Do you know anywhere else we might spend what's left of the night?"

The Jedi knew that wasn't true. Vader had admitted to being from this planet, so he probably knew where they were. None the less, Luke did know of a place they could go.

"Well…there is only one other place I know that's not too far from here," he answered, feeling his heart sink further into his chest.

"Where's that?" Lando asked.

"My home."

Luke saw Han wince. He had told him about what had transpired that caused him to leave Tatooine with Ben.

"Kid, we don't have to go back there." Han said waving him off, "I'm cool with hoofing it all night to get back to the ol' Falcon. Besides, I'm eager to make sure you bozos haven't banged her up too much while I was busy being a statue."

Luke gave his friend a small smile. Han always tried to act like he didn't care about anyone's feeling, but his own though the opposite was obvious to anyone who knew him.

Leia crouched down beside the Jedi and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, "We can find somewhere else to go."

He shook his head, "Thanks for your concern, but…I actually want to go back and visit my aunt and uncle again."

Leia nodded before standing back up, "If you're sure. Which direction?"

"It's that way," the blond pointed, "It should take thirty minutes at most to get there. Hopefully we can find something there to make a splint for your hand."

Lando glanced down at the mentioned limb, "That would be pretty nice, because it looks like it's starting to swell."

"Then we better get a move on." Han said.

Quietly, they began dragging their feet off in the direction Luke had pointed. Luke noticed how Han and Leia took the lead followed by Lando and Chewie. Artoo rolled up to his side and emitted a low beep. Glancing over his shoulder he saw his father standing there waiting for him to start walking. He briefly considered walking with the man, but at this point he was tired and did not feel like fighting. Instead he walked alongside Artoo and kept to himself.

"Let's go, Artoo."

 **AN: Hey there guys, long time no see! College is back in session and as the work load increases so does my inspiration. I guess in a way I should be glad I have so much to do because for some reason that's when I write most. Hopefully that means more frequent updates. ;D**

 **Thank you all for all your well wishes and wonderful reviews! You guys let me know that this story is worth writing! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think! Well...I'm sort of on a writing roll so I think I will go write some more!**


	10. The Lars Family Farm

Luke's legs ached as they drug across the sand. Reaching up he rubbed at his irritated eyes for what felt like the millionth time. His adrenaline had completely run dry leaving his is body in poor condition. Taking a deep breath of the cold night air, he did his best to ignore the way it stung his lungs. His home was only a bit farther, he could make it.

Home. The word stirred up so many mixed feelings. Memories of family diners, boring days fixing vaporators, and…the terrible gut wrenching feeling he had upon seeing the burnt corpses of his aunt and uncle. The image of their bodies was enough to leave him nauseous. He remembered being crouched down vomiting when he had buried them; the sight was too disturbing not too.

This would be the first time he visited his aunt and uncle's graves since then…

Suddenly and without warning, Luke's legs gave out from under him and he would have face planted into the sand if not for his hands reflexively being thrown forward and reaching the ground first. His friends walking ahead of him stopped and turned around to see what happened. Luke tried to ignore the way his face burned in embarrassment. He heard his father step behind him and bend down to help him.

"No, I've got it," he muttered, pushing himself back onto his feet. Vader just straightened back up and waited for him to start moving again.

"You okay, back there kid? Sands not really meant for eating." Han joked.

The little Jedi had no patience for Han's comments right now. He was tired, his stomach felt queasy, and he really did not feel like talking with anyone right now. All these things blended together and manifested themselves in irritability. Perhaps that is what caused him to glare at the smuggler and storm on ahead with Artoo close behind.

"Geez what did I do?" he heard Han say from behind, but he ignored him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader watched silently as his son marched on ahead, leaving his friends starring after him.

"Geez what did I do?" the smuggler said throwing his hands in the air, "The kid was fine a few minutes ago?"

Lando just stood there shaking his head as Leia looked at him with a face of exasperation, "You really don't have any competency, do you?"

"I'm just trying to keep the mood a little lighter!" Han said defensively.

"My son's body has been pushed to its limit, Captain Solo," Vader explained none too kindly, "Not only that, but he is going back to a place that houses painful memories for him. Do you think it an appropriate time to, as you so eloquently put it, 'lighten the mood?"

Luke may have never personally told him about what happened to his home, but long before he had known the boy was his son he had received the reports. His men had tracked the stolen Death Star plans to a small farm on Tattoine. He had been informed it was owned by a Lars family who refused to give them any information. They were terminated because of it.

The Lars family, he may not have known them well, but he did know them. How could he forget the people that had rescued his mother from slavery? The small farm was also where his mother was buried…

Han turned around to look at him with a slightly surprised face, "I know that! And I don't need sympathy courses from the guy who has none!"

"If you were aware of that, Solo, then why are surprised by his sudden change in behavior?"

The man pointed a finger at him and opened his mouth, but no words came out. He seemed to struggle over what to say for a minute before settling on, "Listen, I'm just worried about Luke. Believe it or not, some people actually care about him for more than just his force stuff."

"You assume much, Solo," Vader said darkly.

"Enough," Leia said glaring at both men, "Let's just keep moving before Luke gets too far ahead."

Chewie growled in agreement, appearing to dare another person to speak.

Vader and Han continued to glare at each other until the Sith broke contact and began walking forward. There wasn't much father to go.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Luke came to a stop on a high dune, his heart stopping for a moment. There it was, the farm, appearing just the same as the day he left it. The exterior was charred black from the fire, but the building itself remained intact. A hand came to rest on his shoulder, but Luke couldn't pull his eyes away from his childhood home.

"Do you want to go in alone for a few minutes?" Leia's voice said sympathetically.

He wanted to say yes, but they all needed sleep. It would be selfish to make them wait outside for any period of time.

"No."

"Luke," Lando's voice was quieter and softer than he could ever recall hearing it, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Luke knew Lando was only concerned, but he did not want to back out now.

Slowly, he beckoned his feet to move forward. One step, then another, and another. He had to force his eyes to look away from the spot where he had found their bodies or where they were currently buried. There would be time to visit them later.

When he reached the front of the building he felt unnaturally numb. There was no trace of the door that used to block the entrance, instead he could see straight down the long flight of stairs. Taking a deep breath, Luke began to descend down them. Everyone was quiet as they followed him, the only sound being that of their feet hitting stone. It felt so surreal having his friends and father in the place that he had grown up. He had always considered his life on Tattoine and his life in the rebellion two separate things; a before and after. But now, they were blending together.

At last they reached the bottom where it led into the open, central hub. The lights in the place had probably stopped working a long time ago, but the space was lit up by the starry sky above them. Besides everything being overturned and covered with sand, the area didn't look as bad as the outside. He had honestly expected worse.

Turning around he found the others looking uncomfortable. His father's face, however, remained unreadable, but Luke saw his eyes glancing around the room appearing deep in thought. He could have reached out through the force and tried to read his emotions, but right now….he just wanted to be alone and think.

Pointing straight ahead, Luke tried to keep the strain out of his voice, "That way's the kitchen and over there is the garage," he paused for a moment before continuing, "and that was my Aunt and Uncle's room. You can use anything you find that's not broken. I'm….going to be up in my room."

Without giving the others a chance to reply, he started towards the set of stairs that led to his old room. Artoo did not follow.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader watched his son's retreating form. Only seconds after the boy disappeared around a corner, his friends began talking.

"Man, this has got to be real tough on the kid," Lando said scratching the back of his head, "This place has got to hold lots of ghosts for him."

"He's going to be fine. Let's just give him some space," Han said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself as much as the others.

"Let's just try to get a few more hours of sleep," The princess said, her weary eyes remaining cautiously on Vader, "The suns will be out soon."

Seeing no need to stand there any longer, Vader brushed past Leia who harshly flinched as if the light contact burned her. The Sith ignored the reaction. She would not be sleeping tonight, for he knew she would force herself to stay awake because of his presence.

"Where do you think you're going?" the idiotic pirate snidely asked.

"That is none of your concern, Solo."

"Oh I'm sorry, was I interrupting you from contacting your Imperial friends to rendezvous here to pick us up?"

The smuggler was grating his nerves.

"If I wanted you captured, Solo, I would already have subdued you," he replied, not even bothering to turn around. He heard the Wookie growl out something at the man, but his response was too low to be heard. Vader did not care though; he had other matters on his mind.

He continued forward in the familiar homestead until he reached the seclusion of what used to be the dining area. A table laid discarded on its side surrounded by the splintered remnants of what he assumed had once been chairs. Out of all places in the farm, this was the only one he truly remembered. He had only been nineteen; he had not seen his mother since he was a child. He had been told she would be here and had eagerly traveled to the farm only for his hopes to be dashed in this very room. Padme had held his hand underneath the table as Cliegg told him how his mother had been forcefully taken by those beasts the Tusken Raiders.

Two others had been in this room with them: the man's son and his girlfriend; he could barely recall their faces now. He did, however, remember the man's name.

Owen Lars, the man who had been tasked with raising Luke in his place. If he had known then that he would be the one to look after his future son, he would have paid him more attention. Then again, if he had known that the Lars family would never have raised the boy in the first place.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Luke stood in the entrance of what used to be his old bedroom. The bed was still attached to the wall, though the mattress halfway lay on the floor. His desk was a wreck with all the drawers pulled open and their contents scattered across the floor.

The young Jedi took a step forward towards the desk only for his foot to knock into something hard. Luke's eyes moved toward the ground to discover the object that he kicked was an old toy. He nervously bit his lip and with careful hands picked up the banged up model T-16. It was covered in scuff marks from years of being played with and loved.

Instead of continuing on towards the desk, he changed directions to the bed. Using his shoulder, he shoved the matrass back onto the frame and climbed on top. A small puff of dust rose from the old sheets which tickled his nose, but he ignored it and reclined against the wall, continuing to admire the model.

He still remembered the day he had gotten it. It had been a present from Uncle Owen on his tenth birthday. He had been shocked when his uncle had marched through the kitchen that morning and placed the toy in his lap. The man had looked uncomfortable as he told him to take care of it because toys weren't cheap and he would not be getting a replacement if it broke. Luke had placed the toy gently on the table and threw his arms around Uncle Owen's waist thanking him!

Luke's mouth curved up in a wobbly smile at the memory and he held the model closer to him, trying to ignore the way his eyes stung. His uncle always had trouble showing affection. He could even recall one time when he was small telling Aunt Beru that Uncle Owen didn't like him because of it.

His aunt had smiled at him and shook her head, "No, your uncle loves you," she had said, "He just doesn't know how to show it."

She had been right, of course. The man had a tough love mentality, but it was love none the less. There were so many things that Luke did not understand why his uncle did until now. All those times Uncle Owen had refused to let him go into town, postponed his joining the Imperial academy or shut down any conversation that dealt with his father had been to keep him safe. To keep Vader from ever finding him.

His aunt and uncle had known who his father was and still took him in despite the dangers it posed to them. It made him feel a twang of guilt for those instances he snapped back at Uncle Owen for what he considered pointless rules at the time. If only he could have apologized or thanked them for all they had done.

Luke was suddenly shivering, but it was not because he was cold.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader was not sure how long he had remained in the dining area lost in thoughts of the past, but when he exited he found the central hub empty with the exception of Senator Organa. She appeared to be sitting on the floor in front of a doorway that led to another section of the farm. Upon closer examination he realized her body was slouched against the wall, deep asleep. Her hair was coated in sand and dark circles rimmed her eyes. It appeared her attempt to stay awake had failed. Peering inside the entranceway she slept next too, Vader saw Solo lightly snoring on the opposite side of the wall from the princess. Calrissian also dozed in a chair with his now splinted arm lying on his lap; his face was twisted in slight discomfort.

The Wookie, however, was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room quite awake. The Wookie and Vader shared glances, but no words were exchanged. None needed to be for the Wookie made his point perfectly clear in stance alone: mess with anyone in here and he'd tear off his arms.

Fair enough.

With a nod, the tall man moved away from the room and towards the bottom of the stairs where Artoo waited for Luke to return. The domed head swiveled in his direction and it let out a quiet series of beeps.

Resting a hand on the little droid's head, Vader looked at the top of the stairs, "I know. He needed the time alone, though," he answered in a low voice.

Another beep.

"Do not fret," Vader nodded, "I have given him long enough. I am going check on him."

He lifted his hand away from the droid and climbed the stairs.

It was…strange seeing his son's childhood room though it was in a ransacked state. Turning his head, Vader saw his son who had passed out sitting up on his bed. Sighing, he approached the boy, careful not to step on any of the tools or other various objects that littered the floor. He needed to lay his son down so he would not wake up with neck pain.

As he got closer, he noticed Luke held a toy loosely in his grip. It was a miniature T-16 Skyhopper. Reaching forward, Vader gently removed the object from his son's hands and examined it himself.

To think…Luke had once played in here with this. It was a bizarre thought that left Vader feeling quite melancholy. He scanned the room once more. Had Luke been raised by him the child would have had a much grander room equipped with the latest technology available. He would not have had to waste his talents farming moisture. He would have been given the finest education and taught the ways of the force by him.

A sneeze forced Vader's attention back on the boy. It was only then did he realize how filthy the bed actually was. Thinking for a moment, the Sith carefully propped Luke forward and began to work the brown robe off of him. He had a vague idea why his son was wearing what looked like a Jawa's robe, but he had yet to actually ask the boy. Giving Luke a one over he realized the bed was not the only thing that was filthy; the boy's hair was matted in sweat and sand. Vader grimaced. Sand really was a terrible substance. Even now he could feel the grains aggravating the skin inside of his clothes.

Spreading the robe across the bed, he gently laid Luke down on top of it. The boy fidgeted at the change in position, but remained asleep. Vader watched the rise and fall of his son's chest; the son who was currently angry with him.

The man dragged a hand through his brown hair and inhaled deeply. He had been thinking a lot lately about his past actions on Kamino. The decision he had made about Luke had been rash, selfish even. It was a choice he consciously made that destroyed the trust the two had forged over the few weeks of traveling together. It was a decision driven by his deep desire to raise his son, but what had it gained him in the end? His son ran away and lost all trust in him.

Reaching forward he brushed a strand of hair out of Luke's face.

He had missed his son grow up and nothing could change that, not even an age regressing machine. He should have put his son's feelings into consideration. He should have looked at the bigger picture instead of ignoring all sense of reason and giving into an imbecilic fantasy.

 _Then stop regretting and do something about it._

His eyes widened at the whisper that ran through his head. A whisper that sounded very much like…her.

Looking down at his child -their child- he nodded to himself, a sense of determination swirling inside of him. Turning around he exited the room. Soon he would talk to his son, he just hoped the boy would be willing to listen.

 **AN: Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers! It's been...about three months since my last update...wow. Sorry guys, a combination of lack of inspiration and college work has kept me from writing. This chapter is kind of turned out "meh" in my opinion, but I knew I had to stop fretting about it and give you guys an update.**

 **The next chapter will be called "A Sunrise Conversation" and involves our father and son duo having a long needed discussion in front of a few graves.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has left reviews and continues reading! I am so thankful to have such wonderful readers! I hope I can continue to entertain you all! Not sure when I will be able to update next since I am up to my neck in homework, but hopefully it will be sooner than three months!**


	11. Sunrise Covenant

Luke awoke to the sound of something clattering to the floor. He let out a low groan. All he wanted to do was sleep, but curiosity would not allow him to drift back to unconsciousness. Cracking open his bleary eyes, he looked around the room in confusion. It took a moment for his muddled mind to clear enough for him to remember why he was in his old room.

Taking the sleeve of his shirt he wiped at the bit of drool that clung to his chin. Yuck. He really must have slept hard. He was still tired honestly, but he knew there was work to be done. Perhaps he'd catch a few more hours of rest once they reached the Flacon.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, Luke winced at the aching muscles. Both the fight at Jabba's Palace and the one with the bounty hunters had taken their toll. He supposed the long walk across the desert had not helped either.

Yawning, he went to stretch his arms above his head, but quickly regretted the movement when a sharp pain shot through his elbow. That's right, he had landed on it when he had fallen into the rancor pit. Lifting part of his tunic he spotted the blackish, purple bruise. Yeah, that looked about as nasty as it felt. It was then he realized that he was no longer wearing his robe, but sitting on top of it. He did not remember taking it off, but he also didn't remember falling asleep. Simply shrugging, Luke folded the robe and left it on the bed. He had no more use of it.

Luke noticed his feet had landed on the ground next to his toy ship. That must have woken him up. As bent down to reach for the T-16, but paused mid action. The sleeves of his shirt, which had one reached just above his knuckles, now touched his wrists.

Was he….growing? Weird.

Bending down to he picked it up and looked it over once again. The last time he held it he had been just a farm boy with no worries beyond getting his chores done. Now he fought for a greater cause. This ship was now just a relic from his old life, from his old self. Lifting it up, he placed the model on top of the folded robe. Walking towards the door he gave his room one final scan, before exiting.

Creeping out of his old bedroom, Luke quietly made his way down the stairs into the central hub. The area was still dark as the twin suns had yet to rise, but judging from the color of the sky they would be very soon. Passing his slumbering friends, Luke made his way to the stairs that led to the exit.

Ever since he found out that Han was residing on Tattoine, Luke knew he wanted to visit his aunt and uncle's resting place. The last time he has stood there had been when he had just finished burying them. Shock and numbness had overcome him at the time. Other than the wretched smell, he could barely remember much of that horrifying hour.

Luke's feet crunched down on coarse sand as he stepped out of the entrance. The stillness of morning currently blanketed the dunes filling him with a sense of calm. He scanned the horizon until his eyes settled on the set of graves and…his father's form. The Sith stood still, silhouetted by the rising suns.

Why was his father out here and, more importantly, why was he in front of Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen's graves?

He approached the Sith's back feeling slightly apprehensive. Quietly, he came to stand next to him. Giving him a side glance, Luke examined his father who continued to stare ahead at the four grave markers in front of him. His father's scarf dangled loosely around his neck revealing the lower half of his face. His arms were folded over his chest and there was a crease between his eyebrows. He was thinking hard about something, but what the boy did not know.

Luke shifted his focus to the graves in front of him and listened to the wind ruffle their clothes.

Neither father nor son said a word and Luke began to wonder if his father felt the same discomfort he did. He sincerely wished to have a few minutes alone with his aunt and uncle. How was he supposed to concentrate on them with Vader, and all the conflicting emotions he currently felt towards him, towering beside him?

Then, all of a sudden, his attention switched to the graves that were beside Uncle Owen's and Aunt Beru's. He had almost forgotten they were there at all because he had never known the people that had laid within them: Grandpa Cliegg and Grandma Shmi. What little Uncle Owen had told him about his father came flooding back. He recalled that Uncle Owen had told him he and Luke's father had been stepbrothers after his father had married Shmi. He remembered nothing of either. Shmi had been killed by Tusken Raiders years before he was born; Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru often used the incident as warning for Luke to not venture out before daylight. Cliegg had passed away shortly after Shmi.

So, if Shmi was Uncle Owen's stepmother, and his father was Uncle Owen's stepbrother, that meant….

"Grandma Shmi… was your mother?" Luke asked, looking up at his father.

"She…" Vader paused as if the words pained him,"-was."

Luke stared at the grave as if seeing it for the first time. It was such an obvious connection, yet he had never made it before now.

"What do you know of your grandmother?"

His father's words surprised him.

"Well…Aunt Beru said she was compassionate and Uncle Owen said she was a really good cook," he remained thoughtful for a moment, "They also told me she was captured and killed by a group of Tusken Raiders."

With that said, Luke thought certainly the conversation would go silent.

"My mother and I were slaves."

The statement was so unexpected and out of nowhere, there was no stopping Luke's jaw from dropping. Vader never openly shared information about his past so why now?

"When I was a small child, my mother and I were brought to Tatooine where we were owned by a Toydarian junk dealer."

His father, one of the most feared men in the galaxy, had once been a slave? Slavery had been outlawed in the galaxy for decades, but that did not stop certain scum on Tatooine from illegally owning them. He was certain Jabba the Hutt alone owned hundreds. Part of Luke wanted to press particular questions, but he knew moments such as these where his father was willing to open up to him about the past were rare, so he remained silent as Vader continued.

"All we had was each other. I was contented so long as she was with me. But before my tenth year, we were separated when a Jedi came through and saw my affinity with the Force. With his help, I was free to leave this wretched planet and become a Jedi Knight, but my former master was not willing to let my mother go."

Vader's eyes moved from the grave and to the horizon. Though his face seemed stoic, Luke could see even in his eyes and the tightness of his mouth the great pain these memories gave the Sith lord.

"If she was a slave," said Luke, "then how did she end up married to Grandpa Cliegg?"

"While I was being trained, she was bought by the Lars family. But to them she was no slave; she became Cliegg Lars's wife. I am afraid that I know little of their life together. By the time I returned for her when I was a young man, she had been taken by those vile Tusken Raiders. Cliegg and his brood were too weak to save her… and so was I." His eyes returned to the sand at his feet. "She died in my arms, brutalized and too weak to go on after a month of torment…"

The image of the charred bodies of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru resurfaced in Luke's mind. He remembered the nausea and rage he had felt when thinking of the Empire in that moment. That was how his father must have felt too when Grandma Shmi died, he realized.

"I lost many people during those days," said Vader. "My mother, many of my comrades…" Luke was certain there were unnamed others in there, but Vader was still reluctant to share them. "For all the so-called justice and wisdom of the Jedi code, it could not save everyone or stop that wretched war. In the end, I did what I had to do in order to save more lives from needless destruction."

"You turned to the dark side of the force," the words felt bitter on his tongue, "but aren't people still dying? Has harnessing that power really done any good?"

His father went to respond, but his body was suddenly wracked by coughing. One of Vader's hands gripped his stomach as the violent fit continued. Luke stood next to him unsure what to do; he began to fear the man would not be able to take in enough air.

At last the coughing seemed to subside.

"A-are you okay?"

Vader nodded, standing up straighter as his breathing steadied, "Enough talk of that for now. Luke there is something I must tell you."

"Yes?"

"The way I have treated you…it…was not right," Vader cleared his throat, eyes connecting with Luke's, "I want you to know, from this moment on, there will be no more lies between us. If we are to work together to usurp Palpatine, we must be open with each other."

Luke turned away to look back at the twin suns which were now high into the sky. This entire conversation had been his father's way of apologizing. A piece of Luke said it all was another lie spun to further deceive him, but the force whispered the sincerity of the words. But could he forgive his father after his father lied to him and tried to force him to go with him against his will?

He let out a sigh. The answer was yes. Biggs always had told him that he was no good holding grudges and was too quick to forgive others. It was a trait that his uncle, and even Han, had warned him could get him into trouble. Maybe they were right, but just because he forgave his father did not mean he would blindly follow him. He would remain cautious, but hopeful.

Optimistic eyes returned to his father, "So we're honest from now on?"

"Yes."

With a small smile, Luke looked back at the house, sensing movement on the inside, "We should head back. I think the others are awake."

"You go on ahead. I will follow in a moment."

Simply nodding, Luke started back toward the farm, thoughts drifting to what they would do next.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Vader inhaled deeply, looking at his mother's grave. Her words from decades ago resurfaced.

 _You can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting._

Even now those words were hard to swallow.

"I'm sorry, mother."

 **AN: Hey, long time no see. It's been MONTHS since my last update. Sorry for such a long wait, but the good news is it's summer for me and I am obsessing over Star Wars again. That means you can expect more updates soon! Lots of cool stuff is coming up! As always, let me know what you think! :)**


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